


Be the Change

by Selaxes, SophieRipley



Series: It Takes Three [4]
Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Emotional Turmoil, F/F, F/M, Fights, Knotting, Minor Political Themes, Multi, Polyamory, Prostitution, Reconciliation, Sex, marriage laws
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-22 09:59:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13761720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selaxes/pseuds/Selaxes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophieRipley/pseuds/SophieRipley
Summary: Nick and Judy’s wedding rapidly approaches, and preparations are well underway.  Skye Toklo, though solidly part of their relationship, feels like an outsider thanks to archaic laws, and even if they can overcome that obstacle one of Skye’s old conflicts may yet unravel all that they’ve done.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is part four of our series _It Takes Three_. If you haven't read at least parts two and three I recommend going back and reading those first. Also it should be noted that I took the first five hundred words or so from a recent Microfiction and tweaked it to act as a chapter opener. I've done similar before, notably with _Steel Runs Through Her_ , but I figured it bears mentioning given how recently that microfiction was published.

Skye’s paw trailed along the glass case daintily as she gazed deeply into it.  The display counter held numerous collars of all types:  metal wire, Kevlar with buckles, polyester.  They ranged in price from only a few bucks—the dark wool with knotted clasp—to thousands—the woven gold with diamond and ruby studs—and they were all beautiful. 

Her heart hurt just to see them. 

“Looking to propose?” asked the very round porcupine who ran the shop.  She’d just finished up with a customer and waddled over to Skye with a pleasant grin.

Skye jerked her paw back and looked up at the porcupine with a pained smile.  “No, I’m afraid not.”

“Oh, why ever not?”  The porcupine clasped her paws and leaned on the counter with an intrigued look.  “Are his parents not supportive?  Ooh, no, it’s a her, isn’t it?  Maybe not a fox at all?”

Skye’s smile faded a bit and she shook her head.  “It’s…complicated.  Suffice it to say, marrying isn’t really an option for us.”

The porcupine nodded sagely.  “I understand, honey.  You take your time, and if things change you come on back.  Pretty thing like you shouldn’t have to look so glum.”

Skye nodded her appreciation and the porcupine left her to herself.  She looked back into the case at the collars arranged there and she thought about what it would feel like to wear one, showing the world that she belonged to another mammal and that another mammal belonged to her.  It would never come to be, though, because the laws were very clear about multiple-partner marriage.

She heaved a sigh and wandered out of the shop, walking down the sidewalk in the vague direction of home.  She’d walked out of the apartment she shared with her partners Nick and Judy over an hour ago leaving them to watch the twins, badly needing some time to herself.  She’d seen the kits she’d made with Nick’s help, only a couple weeks old, playing with their father while their other mom sat nearby preparing milk for them and Skye had been overcome simultaneously with the feeling of rightness…and the feeling that something profound was missing. 

Most families would be married.  Judy and Nick would be married, soon, of course, had been engaged since long before Skye crashed into their lives and turned things on their heads.  Judy and Nick would get their happily ever after complete with legal recognition and all the rights that came along with that.  But Skye would forever be absent from that.  The laws, after all, were quite clear about multiple-partner marriage.  She’d never be allowed to see Judy in the hospital as next of kin; would never be able to share in parental leave with Nick; her gut had clenched and soured and rather than own up to her feelings and ruin the pleasant atmosphere, she’d fled.

Along the way back home Skye happened to pass by a cemetery.  She hesitated, looking into it, and after a moment she veered off her course and crossed through the gates into the small parcel of cultivated land nestled in the city.  This cemetery was not close to the one most residents of her home neighborhood tended to be buried in, but there was one plot in the far back corner that held a soul from that neighborhood.  Skye padded silently through the pathways until she reached it, and she knelt before the granite stone.

The name upon it was  _ Tanaraq Gabrielle Toklo _ .  Skye’s mother.

Part of her, deeply buried under years of repression, wished she could ask her mom for advice.  Ask her how to overcome the loneliness she’d felt lately, what she should do.  But the longing was spoiled by the memory of her mother turning from her on her deathbed.

_ “Get out of my room _ ,” she’d wheezed.  It was the last thing she’d ever said to her eldest daughter, and an hour later she was dead.  The memory left a bitter taste in Skye’s mouth.

“I don’t know why I came here,” muttered Skye to the headstone.  No reply was forthcoming, and she stood and went back to the street proper, feeling more alone than before.

When she re-entered the apartment they were there waiting, twin babies on laps and twin expressions of worry on faces.  They were the jewels of her heart, and they waited for her.

_ It’s home _ , she told herself.   _ I don’t need a marriage certificate to validate what we have _ .  She wasn’t sure she was convinced.

She crossed the space between the door and the couch and sat at the end of Nick’s green corduroy couch with her legs folded under her, pulling a napping Virgil from Nick’s paws.

Nick stood as his son was taken from him, stretching a little and eliciting several muffled pops from his back. As normally happened the red fox couldn’t help but smile warmly at the sight of Skye holding one of their kits and paused to kiss her ear on the way to the kitchen. 

Judy, however, looked at the arctic vixen as she finished tugging a onsie over Jasmine now that the tiny fox had a fresh diaper and was starting to nod off. As she settled the tiny fox in the crook of her arm, Judy carefully clambered onto the couch, settling alongside Skye, their legs touching. “So,” the rabbit began softly, “did you get out of your funk?”

Skye hummed without looking up from Virgil, her paw gently smoothing out the fur between his ears.  “No funk,” she lied.  “I just needed some air.”

One of Judy’s eyebrows arched as she gave her lover a look. “You know, if we weren’t holding Virgil and Jazz I’d pinch your ear, fuzzy buns. Want to try and tell me another?”

As if to add to Judy’s prodding, Nick reemerged from the kitchen and knelt next to the couch, his chin resting on his crossed arm. “Carrots is right, Snowball. You got  _ that _ look before you left, and both of us know what it means when your tail gets all bottle brush, so spill it.”

Judy only nodded with a challenging gleam in her eyes. There was affection in both amethyst and emerald gazes, but there was also a clear indication that neither believed the vixen.

Skye sighed.  “We need to find a bigger apartment,” she muttered.  “You two are getting married in eight weeks.  I’ve just been thinking about it, that’s all.”

Judy watched as Nick’s ears flicked back, one of the tells that the doe had learned to look for when the street-smart fox knew on an instinctual level that someone wasn’t being completely honest. Instead of berating the vixen, Judy having learned that Skye would clam up even tighter if she felt she were being pressured, the rabbit used a tactic that was far more effective. Granted, it was completely unfair, but entirely effective.

Shifting closer to the arctic fox, Judy nestled into Skye’s side and sighed, looking up with her eyes large and concerned, adding a slight quiver to her lower jaw. “Honey, don’t you understand that when you hurt, we hurt, too. And we can’t make it better if you don’t share with us.” To emphasize her point she nestled her face against Skye’s shoulder and sighed heavily.

“It’s nothing either of us can actually do anything about,” muttered Skye.  “The thing is, my complaint is petty.  I know it is, so it’s not worth dwelling on.”  The tension in the following silence told Skye all she needed to know about how well that statement was going over, so she shook her head, carefully avoiding eye contact.  “You two plan to marry in eight weeks, and I’m happy for you.  I really am.  But I’m not part of that.  I never will be.”  She spoke in a level, neutral tone, but her ears were swept back against her skull and her tail twitching erratically.  

The rabbit blew her breath out in a rude sound, keeping the volume down so as not to wake the kits. Nick, however, slipped an arm around Skye’s shoulder, pulling the two of them together in a sort of hug while slipping his finger under the vixen’s chin to get Skye to look at him.

“You the mother of our kits and you have as much say in all of this as we do. And it isn’t fair. No matter what happens, one us is going to lose out one way or the other.” The red fox kissed the end of her nose. “We could always cancel the wedding and just live in sin, but that’s not much of an answer either,” Nick commented bitterly.

“It’s not fair to any of us,” Judy groused. “I know a lot of rabbit families that are pretty bugged by the existing laws. Then there are other mammals that the laws discriminate against with that whole definition of marriage. I know I don’t care for it in the slightest.”

“What happens,” said Skye lowly, “if you’re shot on duty?  Both of you?  You end up in the hospital, and I get stuck in the waiting room until you’re released.  If I’m  _ lucky _ .  Or, what if, Judy, you need to go pick up your children from school one day because we’re busy?  You’re not their parent and since both of their parents are here you can’t adopt them.  You could get in trouble for  _ picking up your own children _ .  It’s petty, most people would say I’m making a lot of trouble out of nothing.  But being legally married gives you a lot.  Legally, I’ll always be seen as an outsider. It bothers me.”

She sighed again.  “But like I said, it’s nothing.  I’m  _ fine _ .  I’ll handle it.  I handle everything.”

Nick and Judy traded a look. Despite her words, they both knew that Skye wasn’t fine with the situation, and neither were they. Unfortunately there really wasn’t anything that could be done for the immediate moment. When Nick looked pointedly at Judy and then Virgil and Jasmine, Judy took the hint and took both kits while he scooped up Skye in his arms. While Judy could handle both of the small foxes easily for the time being, the time would soon come when they’d be too large for her to carry both at the same time, and took them to their crib. Nick in the meantime carried an unhappy vixen to the bed they all shared, quieting any protests momentarily by kissing Skye deeply. “I think someone is in need of a slight attitude adjustment, and the best thing I can think of for that is a little tag team grooming. So, nyah,” he quipped and stuck his tongue out. “You’re going to shut up and get brushed and you’ll be happy about it.”

Bouncing over to join her mates, Judy snagged Skye’s favorite stiff bristle brush. “Nick’s right. We’ll figure something out, but right now you could use a little pampering.”

“I don’t need pampering,” muttered Skye under her breath obstinately, but she pulled her shirt off and sat still anyway and submitted to their gentle ministrations.

* * *

Nick walked sided by side with Judy into the bullpen, the door more than large enough to allow this as there were officers that dwarfed the pair that could pass through in body armor without issue. Both had proven themselves to their fellow cops and were greeted cordially by a few, and enthusiastically by most. As they took the normal chair that they shared, Wolfard reached over the table behind them to slap the backrest to get the attention of the pair.

“Hey, you two. Donuts,” the wolf said with a grin, offering a flat white and red striped box and a friendly smile.

“Keep this up and I might have to start wondering about your motives,” Nick said around his morning coffee as Judy made a sound of delight at the carrot cake pastry, complete with cream cheese frosting before plucking his preferred cruller from the cardboard container. “Thanks, though!”

The wolf could only snort in amusement as he watched Judy nibbling the donut that had been saved specifically for her while making noises that were just too cute. Not like Wolfard would ever say as much. He liked keeping his teeth where they were. “Yeah, yeah. You know I do it just ‘cause I want a little bunny to curl up with.”

“Fat chance of that,” Judy mumbled around cheeks that were stuffed with carrot cake. “What’s this?” she asked, her eyes falling on the folders that were at every chair in the bullpen.

Fangmeyer glanced up from the folder that had been placed at her chair. “Upcoming events,” the tigress told the pair. “The city tries to make sure we have a heads up on protests, rallies and events that have been issued permits so that we know there’s a good chance that something might be an all-paws sort of deal.”

The rest of the conversation was ignored as Judy saw something that pulled her complete attention to it. Before she had even reached the dates for a planned rally, the wheels in Judy’s head were spinning.

“A-ten-SHUN!” Snarlov called from the front of the room, Lieutenant Higgins having gotten a promotion a few weeks ago to Precinct Four, the hippo on track to captain’s rank. It had been learned long ago that a good, loud voice helped get the officers to focus before the Chief came in and the imposing bruin had been selected for his deep, sonorous bass.

“Take your seats,” Bogo ordered gruffly as he entered the room, actually turning a alittle to get his massive shoulders through the door frame. “As you might have noticed there were folders at every seat with a rundown of upcoming city events. As some of these events may be a little controversial there is a chance that days off on certain dates may be cancelled.”

There was more to the daily briefing before the session was over, but Judy only heard about half of what was said before the officers were released to hit the streets. As soon as the other officers got moving, the rabbit turned to her partner and fiance. “Go get the cruiser ready. I’ll catch up with you in a few, okay?”

Before Nick could even open his muzzle the rabbit was off like a blue and gray shot, actually kicking off the door frame to pass between Grizzoli and Trunkaby. Her rapid footfalls could actually be heard on the carpeted floor as Judy bolted after Bogo.

Nick looked at where Judy had disappeared, his head tilted at an odd angle and a perplexed expression on his face that was mirrored perfectly on Worlfard’s face as he stood behind the fox. “Does she do  _ anything _ at normal speed?”

A snort of wry amusement came from Nick as he slowly shook his head. “She truly doesn’t.”

 

Judy caught up with Bogo just as he went through his office door.  The buffalo held the door open for her, indicating he noticed she was following, and then he crossed his office and sat at his desk.  Judy ran across the office and scrambled up on one of the large-sized chairs in front of the Chief’s desk. 

“Can I help you, Officer Hopps?” asked Bogo without looking over at her.  He opened a folder on his desk and put his glasses on.

Judy slapped the events folder on his desk, open.  “There’s a Pride Rally in two weeks!”  She jabbed a finger at the listing.  “For that vote on Proposition 87 in three weeks!”

Bogo nodded absently, flipping a page in his own folder.  “I know, I read the same report you just did.”

“But Proposition 87 is a polyamory law!  It proposes legalizing multiple marriage!”

“I know, Hopps,” repeated Bogo.  “I read the report as well.”

Judy slapped her folder shut and shoved it under one arm.  “I need that day off.”

Finally, Bogo looked up at her, frowning at her audacity.  “Absolutely not, Hopps, I need you on duty that day.”

“No, Chief, I need to go to the rally!”

“You will,” retorted Bogo, “as part of the security detail.  I need you on the job, not gallivanting around at political rallies that have nothing to do with you.”  Bogo looked back at his report.  “Dismissed.”

Judy stomped her food and balled her paws into fists, her ears falling.  “ _ No _ .  You don’t understand!”

Bogo looked back up with a snort of irritation at her raised voice.  “Officer Hopps, you’re playing a dangerous game.  Is insubordination a lifestyle for you?”

Judy spoke more softly, her glare relaxing.  “Chief...this is close to home.  This isn’t about rabbit tradition or, or, my support of lions.  This is  _ important _ .  To  _ me _ .  To  _ my  _ relationships.  This is important...to my girlfriend.”  Her voice broke a little on the last word; she and Nick and Skye had never tried to hide their relationship, but they’d also never advertised it, having tried to keep it under wraps without lying to anybody.  In a way she was coming out of the closet now, again, this time not just as a predophile.

Bogo’s frown deepened.  “What happened to your relationship with Officer Wilde?  I went to great lengths to ensure you two could remain partners despite being together, I’d prefer not to see my efforts wasted.”

Judy looked at her feet and took a breath.  Bogo had always been gruff and unyielding, but she knew he cared about his officers; even so, she couldn’t help the anxiety about his reaction to this news.

“I’m still with Nick, Chief.  That’s why this rally is so important to me.”  She looked back up at him with a pleading look.  “Maybe you can’t understand it.  Lots of mammals can’t.  But I’m marrying my boyfriend in two months...and I want to marry my  _ girlfriend _ too.”

“You’re greedy,” dismissed Bogo.  “Pick one.”

Judy’s gaze hardened again into a glare.  “I’m  _ in love _ , Bogo!  And so is Nick!  Have you never done anything that went against the social norms?  Have you never known you were  _ right _ even when everyone else thought otherwise?  Greedy.  How dare you.”  She jumped off the chair and marched to the door, looking back before going through it.  “I’m going to the pride rally in two weeks.”

There was the briefest flash of approval in Bogo’s eyes before his expression settled on its usual gruff irritation.  “Fine.  Take that day off.  But until then, you’re on parking duty.  Starting tomorrow.  Don’t ever talk back to me like that again.”

“Yes, sir,” murmured Judy.  She left his office quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First thing to note: Birthright is still going! We'll post a new chapter for that story when it's ready. Have patience. As usual, we don't have an anticipated posting schedule or expected story length for this, we'll just be working on it as we can and we'll see what happens. If you have any comments or questions, you're free to leave it below!


	2. Chapter 2

“I got to give it to you, Fluff,” Nick commented as he steered the cruiser away from the fast food joint that had some of the better coffee in their patrol zone, though the rabbit held a cup of herbal tea. “I think the only one crazy...or stupid enough, to  _ tell _ Bogo what they’re going to do or not do...is me!”

For her part the ramifications of what she’d done had already sunk in and her ears had stayed plastered to the back of her neck and Judy stared at the plastic lid to her cup. “Damn it, Nick! This is important!” she groused softly.

“I know it is,” the fox sympathized, glancing at his bunny over the rim of his aviator style glasses. “And I know that you think so, too, otherwise you wouldn’t have just bullied the Chief into giving you the day off.” Nick slipped his coffee into the cup holder between their knees to free up a paw to run down Judy’s ears, something that he knew full well would help the doe relax. “And you got off light. Parking duty? If I’d tried what you had I’d have gotten school duty  _ plus _ cleaning the precinct restrooms.” When Judy’s ears began to rise he gave her a sincere smile. “And it’s appreciated, Judy. Believe me, it’s greatly appreciated.”

Leaning into the contact, Judy let her eyes flutter slightly at the feel of her fiance paying as much attention to her as he could while they were on duty. “Well, you and Skye are worth it, you know.”

Nick’s smile turned into a grin. “Skye is. Not so sure about me,” he told the rabbit in a self deprecating joke. The grin turned into a flash of discomfort as a small rabbit paw impacted perfectly between the muscles of his upper arm as Judy slugged him out of reflex.

“Not funny, Nick! This is for all of us. Why should I get bennies and not Skye when she’s as much a part of this as you or me? This could take care of everything. And then there are others, too! I mean, lions evolved from prides. It’s as much a part of their lives as having fur!” She crossed her arms over her chest and glowered at the city slipping by outside the windows before sipping her tea and scowling. “And what was that ‘live in sin’ comment? You suddenly believe in that garbage?”

Nick snorted and retrieved his coffee. “Are you kidding? It was a joke, Carrots. Firm believer in Karma, remember?” He felt the glare being levelled at him and glanced to his right to find Judy’s amethyst eyes all but boring holes into his head with the intensity that she regarded him. “Okay, would you believe agnostic with leanings towards?”

The doe’s expression softened incrementally. “Now  _ that _ I would believe. I think we should let Skye know about the rally as well. We deserve what Proposition 87 could do for us.”

The fox nodded. “It might help. She’s been right moody lately. And we’ll swing by  _ Dino’s Den _ on the way home. She’s always loved their pizzas and it’ll save her from cooking.”

“And you getting stuck with the dishes,” Judy joked.

“There is that.”

 

Skye sniffed delicately, taking in the scent of heated metal.  The hot iron in her paw was set aside on its stand as the solder cooled and hardened in seconds, binding the wires of the electronic device together.  She stood and stretched with a groan just as the door opened to the apartment. She turned with a smile at Nick and Judy, and put a finger to her lips as she approached them.  “Kids are napping,” she said. “I have made a mess of the kitchen table, I’m afraid. Is that food?”

Instead of pizzas, Nick had opted at the last minute to do calzones, this way all three of them could have their favorite ingredients without grossing the others out. Nick and Skye needed more protein, the vixen even more so as she was nursing two fox kits with healthy appetites, and Nick was a fan of various seafoods that the two females detested. How anyone could eat anchovies baffled Judy. As for the rabbit, she added a variety of vegetables that made her pizzas and calzones more like a salad wrap than anything else. With a flourish the red fox set the boxes on the coffee table.

As the vixen approached, her nose seeming to lead the way, Nick and Judy took turns greeting the arctic fox, exchanging kisses and scents, the small display standard whenever anyone came home. To Nick it made him feel...complete. There was a rightness to the moment. Perhaps Judy was really onto something with the Proposition 87 rally.

As Judy and Skye nuzzled before the rabbit bounded off for sodas, craning her head into the crib to look at the sleeping kits, her expression both warming and softening at the same time, Nick glanced at the dining table. Scattered across the surface were multiple inexpensive burner cell phones, wires, rolls of solder, bits of circuit board and other electronic sundries. “Making more spook doo-dads?”

“Hmm?”  Skye looked back at the table.  “Oh. Yeah, I had a few phones lying around and we need a good nanny cam.  So I’ve been cobbling one together. Better than going and buying one for fifty bucks.  It’d serve pretty well as a bug as well, actually.” She sat on the couch at one end as was her habit and pulled her food to herself.  “What’s the occasion?”

Nick smirked as he flipped the lid open on his dinner and looked pointedly at the returning rabbit who doled out the drinks. “You started this, Fluffy-buns. Tell her.”

For her part Judy blew the red fox a raspberry as she jumped up on the couch between her two vulpines. “Um, you see, there’s a rally in a couple of weeks that we should go to. It’s...it’s important.” She looked at Skye expectantly, her right foot twitching in a subdued display of apprehension.

“No,” said Skye without hesitation.  She had been in the intelligence business long enough, had gone to unstable places often enough, to have suspicion--at best--for protests, rallies, and other political gatherings.  She didn’t like politics, which was one reason she had never allowed Jack to induct her into the Agency proper: being an asset was a job; being an Officer was politics. Skye didn’t much care what this rally was, she wouldn’t go.  “I found a place we could move to. It’s a nice place, spacious, partially underground, good neighborhood, but it’s a bit expensive and it’s in Tundratown.”

Nick rolled his eyes and fought down an expression of exasperation, used to Skye’s ploy of changing a subject that she didn’t want to discuss. Fortunately Judy was familiar with this trait as well and spun to face the vixen.

“Sweet. Show us pictures later after we’re done talking about this rally,” the rabbit said flatly.

Skye heaved a sigh, then adjusted her position, folding her legs under her.  “I don’t do rallies, Judy. I don’t do protests, I don’t do political conferences or conventions.  I’ve seen people die at those events. I’ve seen demons twist good ideas into gilded cages. I don’t do rallies.  You know I support whatever cause you’re fighting for this time. But I can do that without showing up to a large frothing crowd of rabid idiots blindly latching onto the newest celebrity political trend.”

Judy’s foot stopped instantly as if a switch had been thrown. It was the rising of the fur along her neck a moment before her ears slapped down along her back and her tail puffed up suddenly as if it had been hit by an electric charge that warned Nick that things might take a turn for something unpleasant.

Instead of an immediate verbal response Judy slipped her phone out and brought up the information on the rally and set it on the cushion before getting up and stepping over Nick on her way to the door. The bunny didn’t even pause to look at the two foxes as it shut with an overly loud sounding click of the latch.

“Wow, Snowball,” Nick grunted with a shake of his head. “Have you ever thought about hearing someone out before shooting them down? Especially the people that love you?” He closed the top of his box and set the food on the coffee table with an exasperated look. “And apart from our skulk, when has she ever had an interest in anything beyond work. Judy’s about as nonpolitical as you can get.”

The red fox stood and glanced down at Skye. He loved her as much as he did Judy, but there were times that they drove him to the point he wanted to thump his head against the wall.

“Proposition 87. Take a gander and then go and find Judy,” Nick told the mother of his children who were beginning to stir before he strode to the crib they were in.

Skye frowned and looked at the information on the phone with a knot settling in her stomach.  “Goddamn it,” she muttered. Then she stood and went for the door. “I’ll bring her back,” she said as she went out the door, closing it quietly behind her.  

Judy was long gone already, but Skye followed her via scent trail left in the air.  The sidewalks were sparsely populated but even so Judy wasn’t visible, meaning she was probably running.  Skye began running as well, following the scent trail for several minutes down the road, through an alley, across an intersection, and finally into Emerald View Park where at last Judy came into view, walking down a path along the water.  Skye fell into step beside her and was quiet for a moment while Judy reacted to her presence with complete icy silence.

“When I was seventeen, my baby sister went to this event downtown.  Some marriage equality thing. Obviously the movement took years longer to actually get interspecies marriage legalized, but it was still around back then, and while Rachel was never interested in anyone who wasn’t a fox she had friends who were.  So she went to support them. She was fourteen at the time, so by all rights she shouldn’t have been allowed to go. But mom had been sick and Rachel snuck out. 

“She was the only fox there, and the same people who called for openness and trust between species attacked her for daring to show her face.  She went to the hospital with three broken ribs, a broken arm, and a number of severe contusions along her side. Since then, I’ve never seen a political event that wasn’t as bad in some way or another.  Sometimes not obviously so, but it’s always there.”

She held Judy’s phone out to her.  After a moment, Judy snatched it out of her paw.

“I forget,” muttered Skye.  “Okay? Sometimes, I forget.  That pessimism isn’t ‘seeing things clearly’, that paranoia isn’t ‘being smart’.  I forget that my job consisted of me being put in the worst case scenarios most of the time.  I forget that foxes aren’t always the bad guys these days, too. I’m sorry.”

Judy continued to glare at the vixen, her lower lip pushed out in a truculent manner that the two foxes in her life knew meant potential trouble. “My sister will be in town and has agreed to watch Virg and Jazz and you and I are going to that rally because it is important.” Before she knew what she was doing the rabbit had her paws balled up in Skye’s shirt and had hauled her forward and down to plant an almost fierce kiss on her lips then pushed her away. “We. Are. Going. I’ve got two weeks of parking duty because I told Bogo that I would be at that rally to support it. And you’re going to be there even if if I have to tie you up and drag you there.”

The silvery furred doe took the vixen’s paw in hers and began to lead the slightly dazed fox back towards their apartment, her stomach rumbling audibly.

“We’re going to go because I love you and I love Nick and all three of us are going to be accepted even if it kills me. You understand? And after the kids go to bed I’m going to show the two of you what happens and why you don’t get between a bunny and the ones she loves.”

* * *

Mammals were beginning to show, mostly lions and lionesses who wanted their formation of prides to be officially recognized, but there were others as well. Some were coyotes, a few tigers, hyenas with small clusters of males surrounding one, or occasionally two, females who were the obvious leaders of the groups. There were pards of cheetahs, strange family groups, many of the attendees bringing their cubs and kits with them. As Bogo surveyed the gathering crowd he heard more than one child refer to several individuals as ‘mom’ or ‘dad’.

It wasn’t the sort of lifestyle that Bogo saw for himself, but this wasn’t about him. It was about citizens that were what others called unconventional either through evolution or by choice because it felt right to them, and it was the Cape Buffalo’s job to see to it that they were heard without harm coming to them. 

All of this was in the massive bovine’s belief in people respecting each other.

As for various preparations, mobile command units, colloquially called mobile precincts by the members of the ZPD, were set up at cardinal points around the rally with the one that sat behind Bogo acting as the command center. Essentially enormous recreational vehicles, the units were decked out in the same black and white paint scheme as the standard cruisers and had digital communications arrays. Underneath where luggage bins were on civilian models the mobile units held riot gear and other necessary equipment that the officers could access within moments if events turned ugly.

As far as the Proposal 87 rally getting ugly, Bogo saw that opponents to the bill were arriving, many holding signs that clearly proclaimed their views on the situation. Things like ‘1+1=Right!’ or ‘Poly is a LIE!’ could be seen among the protesters. Bogo also noticed that many of the protesters were from species that bonded for life such as wolves and so on, or belonged to very strict and unyielding religious groups. It was those groups that the Cape Buffalo frowned at. Bogo believed in the law, in the upholding of the rules of society. What he didn’t believe in were mammals bullying others to conform to their beliefs. Despite all of their proclamations of peace and love they were often the first to instigate fights and clashes.

“Trunkaby!” Bogo grunted loudly, the elephant stepping forward and standing a little straighter. “Get a couple of the heavies and mill about between the groups. Make sure they maintain a respectful separation.”

Francine Trunkaby nodded and looked to where her Chief was indicating. “Can do, Boss,” the cow started to reply before her eyes narrowed a little, her large ears fanning out in surprise. “Is that Hopps?” she asked in surprise, doing a double take at the small grey rabbit and vixen that walked with her paw-in-paw.

“It is,” Bogo rumbled. “Got a problem with that?” the bull asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“No, Sir! It’s just...her and Wilde are...were...” Francine asked as her trunk curled and uncurled in confusion and uncertainty.

“She is and they are and that’s all there is to it.” Bogo tipped his horns towards the off duty cop that was one of his top officers. “I’d like to make sure that this stays peaceful. Understand?”

With a grin appearing on either side of her trunk, the elephant nodded and signaled a couple of the other large class officers that were there for security, the most notable being McHorn and Rhinowicz, both clad in rigid body armor that made them look like walking tanks. “Gotcha, Chief!” she answered in a chipper tone. “C’mon, boys. Let’s amble that way.”

Bogo fought the urge to smile as the three largest officers in the immediate area went to place themselves between Hopps, the vixen and the counter protesters. This was certainly going to be a peaceful rally if the bull had any say in the matter.

* * *

One of the open fields of Emerald View Park had been appropriated for the rally.  It was near a pond and on two sides bordered by trees, lending an almost ancient feel to the proceedings, despite the very modern stage built in the center of the roped off area.  What seemed like a thousand mammals crowded the stage, and nearby food cart owners were making a killing selling pastries and wraps and sodas and other myriad snacks. It was contained chaos, loud and bustling as speakers spoke into microphones and the crowd spoke back in one loud voice comprised of multitudes.

Around those, at the edge of the chaos, were the protesters.  A number of them--disproportionately many of them--were protesting in the name of the Church of the Lamb; it was these whom Skye watched carefully out of her peripheral vision while she and Judy stalked the crowd and took in the words of those who spoke.

For over an hour speakers came to the stage and said their piece; some of them politicians, some of them celebrities.  Gazelle even made a show of her support of the cause. And through it all the background buzzing of dissenters served only to make those who supported the proposed Pride law all the more sure of their support.

Presently, the keynote speaker took the stage.  He was a young lion new to the political stage; fresh out of the Zootopian military, the large feline had the bearing of an officer despite the prosthetic leg prominent on his left side.  

He smiled, though, when he reached the microphone, and the crowd quieted.

“Never,” he said in a loud but pleasant boom, “did I expect so many mammals to show up here!  And so many who are not lions! This movement started as a way for lions to regain cultural rights we’ve been denied for years, and as soon as we got the message out mammals came out of the woodwork to support us.  You have no idea how pleased I am to see all of you. My name is Kalvin Manestock, and I have a story for you.

“When I was six, I asked my mother why the other mammals in school never talked about their mommies or their mums.  See, the other kids only ever talked about ‘dad’ and ‘mom’. But when  _ I _ went home, I saw my dad, and I saw my mom.  But I also saw my mother, and my nan. All four of them were in my life, all four helped raise me.  My best friend, another lion, had a mom, a dad, and a father. Prides were a way of life for us.

“I’d find out, though, that they were not a way of life in this city.  When I deployed to Tsavo-al-Simb just two years ago, I didn’t expect my life to change so much.  See, my unit ended up in a firefight; I took the edge of a grenade blast and woke up in the hospital with bandages up my entire left side and my left leg gone at the knee.

“My dad came to see me.  So did my mom. They were married, you see, and my parents, so they were allowed in.  But mother and nan were not ‘immediate family’ and so they couldn’t actually see me for three weeks.  That’s when I understood there was a problem in this Shining City.

“You see, for lions, living in prides is a way of life.  It’s part of our cultural identity. Rabbits live in burrows, wolves live in packs, foxes live in skulks, and lions?  Lions have prides. My family is more than just my siblings and mom and my dad; I have four parents, not just two, and half of them have no more rights with me or the others than any stranger on the street.

“That’s why I’m here, folks.  That’s why I’ve spent the last year campaigning.  That’s why I spent the last year talking to people and getting favors; that’s why I got the city council to draft Proposition 87.  If it passes, it legalizes multiple marriage, not just for my parents. Not just for lions. Or rabbits. Or wolves. But for  _ everybody _ .  Because love knows no barriers.  And because we deserve the dreams we hold.

“But to do this, I need your help.  I cannot do this alone. A thousand of you are here today, and it will take every single one of you.  Don’t let the naysayers get you down. Don’t let them make you falter. We all of us need to step up and cry in one voice, ‘this is our right!’  We all of us must take the initiative!

“Three years ago, hero police officer Judy Hopps said ‘look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you.’  Step up, Zootopia. Be the change that you want to see. Vote yes on Proposition 87.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two GO! So...before you say it, yes. Skye can be a bit of a bitch sometimes. Can't we all? Besides, she's still working out the "post-birth" kinks ;)
> 
> Sophie has a new job schedule that makes it difficult to get writing in regularly. We're still writing, but it may take a bit between chapters. Sorry about that! Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to leave comments below!


	3. Chapter 3

> Previously on  _ It Takes Three _ :
> 
> Judy Hopps, at that time engaged to Nick Wilde, lost a loved one she was once involved with.  Nick helped her through the funeral and subsequent breakdown. 
> 
> Almost a year later, Skylar Toklo returned to Zootopia.  Nick, believing her to have died years prior, loses it upon seeing her and reacts quite badly to her reappearance.  They later reconnect, whereupon Nick begins to realize the feelings of romantic love he’d once had for Skye--feelings he’d long since buried, were resurfacing.  Skye, of course, never stopped loving him. Nick becomes conflicted, torn between his loyalty and love for Judy...and his love for Skye. Loyalty and current promises take precedence over old flames believed to have died.
> 
> After Nick invites Skye to stay with him and Judy while she gets back on her feet, Judy meets Skye and begins to feel jealous and insecure; as things go on, Nick feels more and more torn apart, Judy feels more and more sure she’s losing her fiancee to the gorgeous vixen, and Skye feels more and more a third wheel who is unwelcome and unwanted.
> 
> Things come to a head, during which Judy and Skye discover they’ve begun to fall for each other, while retaining their love for Nick.  Meanwhile, Nick’s emotional state is becoming even more chaotic. 
> 
> In the end, the three of them choose to accept that they all love each other and all deserve to have that love; that is, a triad is formed, rather than a couple and a devastated loner.  
> 
> A couple months after that, Judy asks a pregnant Skye to accompany her to Bunny Burrow, with the intent of having Skye meet her family as her new girlfriend, and of having Skye help her through the one year anniversary of her loss.  During the trip Skye finds Judy’s family very supportive, gives birth to fraternal twins, and discovers a startling truth about the nature of Judy’s relationship with the one who died a year prior. 
> 
> A couple weeks after that, Skye becomes emotionally erratic.  Judy and Nick’s wedding is nearing, and Skye feels jealous and excluded, since the law states polyamorous marriage can’t happen.  She feels like the third wheel once again, as if she doesn’t belong in the family they’ve created. 
> 
> Judy discovers a political rally promoting a polyamorous marriage law that’s set to be voted on in the near future; she suggests to Skye that they attend.  Skye refuses out of hand, making an ass of herself; as a former spy political rallies make her uncomfortable. Judy rightly gets mad at Skye’s flippant attitude, but Skye apologizes and agrees to attend the rally.  They go. It goes well, and they hear a motivational speech. 
> 
> And now the continuation.

* * *

The lineup of speakers were impressive not in their notoriety but in the arguments they made for inclusion and acceptance. It wasn’t just lions that had the extended family structure, but also hyenas and many others to one degree or another. All saw their families as more than just one pair and simply wanted the laws of Zootopia to recognize such. There were other mammals that also practiced polyamorous relationships such as giraffes and their establishment of small herds, deer that did the same, even a number of equines.

And Judy cheered them all.

It was Gazelle, though, who wrapped up the rally with a valid argument that it wasn’t the intention of the supporters of Proposition 87 to force their beliefs on others, but to have their choices respected and accepted. When she gestured to a small area off stage, holding out her hoof and nodding emphatically. With great reluctance another ungulate that looked very similar to the famed singer climbed the stairs and took Gazelle’s arm, her head lowered bashfully while a gazelle buck also joined the duo followed by a tiger and tigress.

Judy’s mouth fell open in surprise as her favorite artist introduced her family, not really what one could call orthodox, but it was clear that what they all felt for each other was as potent and strong as what Judy felt for her two foxes.

“We aren’t saying you have to be like us,” Gazelle said as she basked in the touches and affection of her family. “But please, don’t deny us the very thing that makes us the happiest, that makes us feel the safest. This is my  _ herd _ and if you help us pass Proposition 87 we can finally have the rights that all spouses and parents have.”

As the crowd of supporters cheered and whistled, the singer broke into a song that had been one of the most popular entries on her latest album,  _ ‘Love Knows No Bounds’ _ . Before the first line was finished the entire gathering was singing, Judy following suit as she took Skye’s paw in hers and looked into those fantastic blue eyes that defied description.

Skye, who had spent the entire event tense and watchful, did not sing.  She did, however, take Judy’s other paw and start dancing; she wasn’t the first in the crowd to do so, but she helped others to make that jump from singing to dancing as well.It was an energetic few minutes during which Skye devoted most of her attention to the bunny before her.

When the song finished, Skye threw proverbial caution to the wind and kissed Judy in full view of any of the crowd that may have been watching.

The move surprised Judy for all of a second, her body stiffening in astonishment before she threw herself into the very public display of affection and threw her arms around the vixen. Then the kiss deepened, and the rabbit tried to press all of her emotions for the fox into the languorous contact so that when they finally parted, only half aware of the cheering around them from other rally goers, tears of unbridled joy coursed down her cheeks.

“You know…” the doe began tremulously, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the crowd, “you and Nick are the best things that have ever happened to me! And now there’s Virgil and Jasmine…”

It was all too much for Judy and she shook her head and drew close to the fox, nestling her cheek against Skye’s lithe, almost delicate, body.

For many it truly was a celebration, and only a few were aware that the potential for trouble was averted by the diligence of several of ZPD’s most outstanding officers. When a group of rams bearing signs that poly relations were an affront to the Church of the Lamb and started to surge forward at the beginning of Gazelle’s song, Francine Trunkabee all but leapt in front of the potential troublemakers, arms and trunk kept in a ready position, but not making overt threats to the protestors. 

“Now boys, I’d hate for this to turn ugly, because if it does, then  _ I _ have to get  _ ugly _ . Savvy?” the pachyderm admonished with a glare.

Behind the cow stood the towering forms of Rhinowicz and McHorn, both letting their enormous fingers brush the ends of their truncheons. Even had Francine failed to stop the toughs, the scowls from the two rhinos would have. As it was the rams decided that retreat was the more prudent choice and melted back as other officers began to gravitate to the spot.

As soon as the moment passed, Francine sighed in relief. She wasn’t a rookie and had been in a riot or two, the last the predator protest in Savannah Central during the Night Howler crisis. Still, a grand melee wasn’t her idea of fun, if for no other reason than the amount of paperwork that it would entail. When she glanced at a bit of movement to her side, the elephant felt an additional surge of reassurance as Fangmeyer appeared, the tigress smiling widely.

“We’ll have to keep an eye on them when this closes down and folk start to head home,” the feline said with a grin. “For now, though, take a peek behind you at our little bunny.”

“Do whuh?” Trunkabee muttered before casting a glance behind her only to see Judy in a passionate lip-lock with a white furred vixen. “Oh, wow! Bunny’s playin’ both teams!”

Fangmeyer snorted as she dropped a paw on her fellow officer’s shoulder. “I guess I don’t have to keep it under wraps anymore, but she’s shacking up with her  _ and  _ Nick. They really are quite the little family!”

Her ears flapping in surprise, Francine closed her mouth before turning to her sister-in-blue. “Huh! No wonder she wanted to attend.” As the elephant returned her attention to crowd of protestors she had to admit a bit of admiration for the rabbit that was still doing everything contrary to norms and caring her own path in the world. “Well, good on them. I hope this passes. It’s not like it hurts anyone.”

The tigress snorted derisively. “Try telling that to  _ them _ ,” Fangmeyer said with a jerk of her head to the Church of the Lamb mob. “Some folk just like to hate anything different.”

Meanwhile, Skye had noticed the growing aggression of the rams from the Church of the Lamb.  She drew back from Judy and looked around quickly, noting that all the obvious exits from the event were flanked by crowds of rams and sheep and other Church followers.  

“It’s time to go,” muttered Skye, her training and anxiety surging up and driving her to action.  She looked back at Judy. “We need to go.”

Instead of arguing, Judy simply nodded, recognizing the shift in the vixen’s demeanor. She’s learned before to not argue about certain things, and the sudden switch was one of them. Nodding silently the rabbit let Skye direct them while staying by the vixen’s side, her attention also on high alert, her ‘Cop-self’ as Nick called it, senses primed to pick out potential danger even though she wasn’t nearly as adept as her vulpine mate.

Skye pulled Judy through the crowd around the stage, where she ducked under a barrier and into a walkway between two large construction vehicles.  From there, they made their way to the street near that portion of the park and into Zootopia proper. Only then did Skye start to relax, releasing Judy’s shoulder.

“The rally was winding down anyway.”  She glanced at Judy, panting lightly, her ears swept back and down.  “The protesters were gearing up for a riot. Your megafauna coworkers are intimidating and doubtless good at their jobs, but I didn’t want to be there if it sparked.”

Judy nodded and moved a little closer to Skye, her ears rising slowly. “Yeah, you’re not going to get an argument from me on that,” the rabbit quipped with a playful rub of her shoulder against the vixen’s arm. “Hey! What says I make you those tofu rolls you and Nick like so much? It’s the least I can do for you coming out with me. It...it really means a lot to me, Babe. It really does.”

Skye shook her head; despite the cool of the evening, she was feeling hot, and a bit dizzy.  “I’m actually not feeling so hot all of a sudden.” She blinked rapidly, and her voice came out breathy.  “Gonna pass out.” 

A second later, her vision dimmed and she lost all sense of place or time as she lost consciousness.

Judy was in the best shape of her life and her training thus far had given her excellent reflexes and was able to not only catch Skye but lower her to the ground as gently as she could. Further training took over and the rabbit ran through a series of checks that had been standard for all ZPD officers. Not only were the vixen’s ears too warm, her nose was dry, something that was never a good sign with canids. Even as she fished her phone out Judy felt for the fox’s pulse on the inside of her upper arm and did a mental count as she mouthed the seconds. About a hundred and eighty a minute, more than a little fast for one whose average heart rate was a steady one twenty.

As the emergency operator got their location, Judy passed on other relevant information so that the paramedics would be prepared when they arrived. It was only due to training that she could pass on so much quickly and concisely. Once the call ended with the sound of a siren bleeping on just the other side of the rally to clear the crowd out of the way, the doe swallowed down the worry and anxiety that clenched at her chest and heart.

 

When Skye began to wake, she noted three things in particular:  she was surrounded by sterile and medical scents, she had medical equipment attached to her, and there was a lioness hovering over her.  Instinct, training, and sheer traumatic association took over. Skye threw herself to her right, away from the lion, throwing a back-handed strike at the lion’s face and following it up with a kick to her hip that would have been savage if it had landed squarely, but which only glanced the lion because Skye ended up slamming against a wall instead of continuing to her right as she’d expected, throwing off her aim.

In a flash Judy shot like a rocket towards the berserk vixen even as she screamed her name. “SKYLAR! NO!” she belted out from her diaphragm, actually giving the fox’s name something like a physical substance that cut through the delirium and fear reaction. “It’s okay, Babe! It’s okay! She’s trying to help you! You aren’t there anymore!” the doe cried as she landed close enough to place her paws on Skye’s cheeks and looked into her eyes, interposing herself between the former spy and the paramedic. “You aren’t there! You’re here now, with me and Nick! Remember?”

Skye, who had reflexively grabbed Judy’s limbs in a lock, carefully released Judy and took a moment to take stock of her surroundings.  She was pressed up against the wall of the interior of an ambulance, the lion paramedic rubbing her jaw and looking confused and wary. On one arm was a blood pressure cuff, which Skye removed with jerky motions and tossed away from herself.

“What, wh-what happened?”

Judy let the tension flow out of her now that Skye was more herself and took a breath that she let out in a quavering sigh with the adrenaline that was coursing through her blood. “You...you fainted. They just got you into the bus and started their exam when you woke up and flipped out.” She tentatively reached out and touched Skye’s paw. “It’s my fault, Babe. I...I didn’t even think about how you might react to a lioness. I was too worried, and I was being stupid. I’m sorry. But can you let them finish their job? You got me a little worried.”

Skye took a moment to breathe, pulling herself back on the gurney proper, her eyes carefully avoiding the lioness.  “It’s post-traumatic stress,” she muttered without looking up. “The details are classified, but that’s it. I can handle it normally, but….”

Judy nodded to the paramedic for her to continue her exam. “It really is okay, now. And I should have warned you. I’m really sorry.” As she spoke her fingers tightened on the paw that she found and did what she could to keep Skye calm and to show support. “Um...you aren’t going to...uh..press charges, are you?”

With the fox calmed the lioness returned to the task at paw and held up a blood pressure cuff with inquisitive expression aimed at the vixen. “No. It happens. There was one time where we responded to a big brawl during the Howler crisis. We were treating one of the cops and when she came to she almost took the doors off the back of the rig.” It only took a few moments to get a reading and the medic made a note of the reading as well as heart rate. She then turned back to her patient and held up an intravenous line and bag of saline marked with canid specific vitamins and minerals. “So, I’m guessing that you’ve given birth recently. All this is is your body’s way of telling you that you might have pushed it a little too far today, maybe gotten a little stressed or too worked up. Let me drop this in and then you can be on your way.” She gestured at Skye’s chest. “And you got a full load which tells me there are some kits waiting for their dinner when you get home, yeah?”

“This is ridiculous,” muttered Skye.  “I’m a highly trained professional--” She caught the look on Judy’s face and cut herself off with a scowl not unlike the one Judy was wearing.  “Fine,” she sighed, “do what you need to do.”

The lioness chuckled. “Professional or not, you’re body is needing some nutrients that you’re burning through too quickly while making milk and some borderline dehydration. Talk to your doctor about getting some supplements or if there are any dietary changes you need to make.” She was able to insert the needle so quickly and effortlessly that the vixen blinked in surprise at her as she opened the flow restrictor. “It happened to me my first cub. The second and third ones, too.” Once assured that the drip was adequate the lioness turned for the doors. “That should only take ten minutes or so. Just relax here and as soon as it’s done we’ll get you ladies on the way.”

Judy nodded and took Skye’s other paw, her thumb brushing the fur on Skye’s knuckles. “Thank you.”

The lioness waved her paw with a smile. “No prob. It’s what I do.” She stepped out and was just starting to close the door when a thought occurred. “Out of curiosity, were you two at the rally for Proposition 87?”

Skye took a breath, resisting the ingrained urge to conceal personal information.  “Yes.” She looked at Judy. “This one insisted we attend.”

The paramedic tilted her head as her ears flicked in curiosity. “May I ask why? I mean, I’d like to see the proposition pass, but that’s because of my pride, you see…” She shook her head. “I’m just surprised that you two would support this. Some of us with  _ nontraditional _ families aren’t going to turn down all the backing we can get, you know?”

Judy looked at Skye, and the vixen understood why when their eyes met; the primary driving force behind the triad’s decision to keep their relationship less than public was Skye’s own discomfort with sharing personal information with people she didn’t trust.  

Skye took a breath again.  “We’re...less than traditional ourselves, not just because we’re interspecies or same-sex.  We have a third; he couldn’t go with us, someone had to watch the kits.”

Her eyes widened in shock before the lioness began to grin, the expression warm and pleased. “Huh! Well, congratulations to the three of you! Here’s hoping that this gets passed so all of us can live the way that’s right for us, yeah?” She finished stepping out of the rear of the ambulance. “Look, if you need anything just knock on the side, okay? I feel like seeing how my pride’s doing at the moment, ‘kay?”

Without waiting for an answer the medic closed the doors even as she lifted her cell to her ear.

“So, vitamins and making sure you get enough fluids,” Judy said with an arch look. “I think I’ll wait for the official word from the doc, but getting more protein into you wouldn’t be a bad idea. Gotta take care of my favorite vixen, don’t I?” she said before kissing the side of Skye’s muzzle.

Skye laid her head back and closed her eyes without responding.

The silence was a little odd and Judy gave the paw she held a slight squeeze. “So, you were pretty forthcoming with the medic. What’s up with that? I’m not upset, just curious.” The rabbit rested her chin on the fox’s shoulder so that when Skye opened her eyes she found two huge amethyst pools regarding her in what had become Judy’s ‘super-sugar-cute’ look.

Skye nodded.  “I...didn’t realize that my emotions...my trauma...still controlled me as much as it did.  Attacking her made me realize that maybe I can be...wrong.” She turned to face Judy more directly.  “You’ve heard us talking about Nick’s mom, and you’ve never asked questions about it. Do you want to know what happened?”

Judy shrugged and nuzzled her chin a little further onto the recumbent vixen. “I figured you two would tell me when you felt up to it. With my family being nosy can be...troublesome sometimes. That and it seemed to be a sore spot, so…”

“It’s quickly becoming an important thing,” said Skye, “because you and Nick will want Bethany at your wedding.  And as things stand, if she’s there...I won’t be.”

Judy was silent for several moments before nodding. “Yeah. Working this out would probably be a good idea.” She drew up and let her ears begin to rise. “Now the question becomes how naughty I can get with you all spread out in front of me or do I try to keep it bottled up until we get home and pounce on you?”

Skye licked her chops and looked down Judy’s body, but made no move to engage.  “Probably best to wait. I need you to understand why I’ve spent so many years hating Bethany, and why this is more difficult than just forgetting the past.”  

Skye took a deep breath to steady herself.  “My mother died years ago, when I was eighteen, and when she was in the hospital on her last day, knowing she was going to die, she told me to get out of her room.  Her last words to me were to banish me from her deathbed. Because of Bethany Wilde.”

Judy’s mouth fell open in stunned amazement but kept silent, letting her vixen mate continue at her own pace, knowing that this was too important to try and fish for details. She’d done a bit of growing up over the past few months and had learned to be patient.

Skye nodded.  “True story. Nick was there, mom always loved him.  So we lived in a primarily prey neighborhood and were not well liked, so Nick and I spent a lot of time in other neighborhoods.  My mom was involved in a gang when she was young, and had seen a lot of girls sell their bodies for gangs. She got out of that life and spent the rest of her life hating everything to do with that kind of thing.

“Which is fine...except that for awhile when I was a kid I had a thing for a certain style of dress and I hung out in a bad neighborhood.  Bethany saw me one day hanging out with a friend, recognized that friend as a prostitute, and assumed that I was one too. So she told my mom, who was her best friend.

“Mom didn’t take it well.  She yelled and cried, and when I denied that I was selling myself, she decided I was a liar as well.  So she kicked me out of her house. I went to Bethany and told her to talk sense into my mom, and Bethany told me, ‘I know what I saw, this is on you.’.

“Five years later, my mom died, and the first and last thing she said to be after kicking me out of her apartment was, ‘get out of my room.’  Because Bethany told her something without waiting to see what the truth was, and then refused to admit she was wrong. I haven’t spoken civilly to Bethany since, and the last time I spoke to her was almost a decade ago when I screamed at her.  That’s the history between us. She turned my mom against me, and for a long time my baby sister too.”

Judy took her free paw and began to gently stroke the fur along Skye’s cheek with the backs of her fingers. “Thank you for sharing that,” she said softly. “And we need to talk to Nick about this, too. We’re a family, no matter what, and we need to fix this. You’re too important not to.” To emphasize her words, the rabbit placed a gentle, warm kiss on Skye’s lips, sighing at the emotions the contact stirred. “And you need to finish that IV so we can get out of here. I hope they have masking spray, otherwise the ambulance is absolutely going to reek of very horny bunny.”

The IV took almost precisely the amount of time the paramedic estimated, and when they were finished and the lioness made her recommendation that Skye get a check-up at her normal doctor, Judy and Skye were left on the sidewalk with the sparse evening foot traffic.

“That was embarrassing,” muttered Skye, looking around at the foot traffic who she imagined were staring at her and judging.

“What?” Judy asked with a curious expression before flicking her thumb back over her shoulder. “That? C’mon. That was nothing. Embarrassing is having half the precinct show up on an officer down call because you got stuck in wet cement.” The puzzled look melted into a slight frown. “I was so cheesed off at Nick when that happened I could’ve shaved his tail. Now  _ that _ was embarrassing. This was nothing. I mean, you do have two voracious kits working your tits nearly every hour of the day. You’re bound to feel the drain.”

To help lighten the vixen’s demeanor the rabbit took her mate’s paw and skipped a little and set a pace that allowed her to keep even with Skye’s slightly longer stride. 

“So what does my sugar fox want for supper tonight? It’s my turn in the kitchen, so whatever you want!” She made an amused sounding snort. “As long as whatever you chose can get delivered.”

“Delivered is good,” said Skye.  “I should teach you how to not burn pots boiling water.”

“Hey! It was only that once!” the doe protested until her ears fell. “Um...okay. Twice. But at least they weren’t your good pots!”

“This is true.  Let’s get home and get food ordered; we need to talk to Nick.”

Judy nodded as she sidled a little closer, knowing that the talking to Nick would mean discussing the tension between Skye and Bethany but determined that she would do everything possible to keep tensions down and find a way through the animosity.

* * *

Nick sipped at the bowl of miso soup in his paws and glanced to Judy as she hed Jasmine up to the prosthetic nipple, the rabbit wearing a breast vest that allowed her to nurse the kits while using Skye’s milk. Virgil rolled on the carpet next to her having already had his supper and was happily chewing and drooling on a nyon stick, his eyes drifting shut until he’d rouse for a second, chew vigorously for a second before beginning to drift off again. Next to him the mother of his children pushed halfheartedly plucked at a sesame roasted green bean with chicken bits in brown sauce.

“So,” the red fox began with a neutral expression, “the rally wasn’t all that bad, you did faint and got an IV and an appointment to talk to the doc. What else?” Nick inquired, a slight chill of trepidation going untouched by the soup. When his ladies got pensive it was ample warning that something potentially unpleasant was coming down the pipes.

“I tried a flying arm bar on the lion paramedic when I woke up,” murmured Skye.  It wasn’t strictly true, but it illustrated the encounter well enough in terms Nick was familiar with.  “That made me realize that I may be capable of being wrong and emotional, and...long story short, I think we need to talk to Bethany.”

To his credit Nick was able to not only catch the bowl as it leapt out of his paws with his jolt of surprise, but he managed to keep the contents from spilling everywhere. He set the dish down with exaggerated caution before turning to his vixen and staring at her with eyes wide and disbelieving. He’d tried to get Skye to talk to his mother numerous times in the past, each attempt ending in heated arguments. 

It was the last thing that Nick had ever expected Skye to say.

“Nick?” Judy inquired softly as she lifted Jasmine to her shoulder to pat her back, almost missing the robust burp from the kit.

“Hold on,” the red fox mumbled as he turned to face Skye, a paw going to her shoulder as he knew just how sore a subject this was for the arctic fox. “I think I heard you say that we need to talk to my mom…”

“Don’t be an arse, Nick,” snapped Skye.  “Things have changed, okay? Back then, I was younger and more arrogant and...and had no hope of actually having a real life with you.  Now, I’ve realized I’m fallible. I’m with you and Judy, and there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that I’ll be able to actually be a part of your marriage.  You’ll want her at your wedding, Judy wants her at your wedding, you both want her involved with her grandkits. 

“And it’s been what...going on twenty years since mom died?  And Bethany and I haven’t spoken since that day. I’m an adult, and I should act like it.”

Nick ran his paw gently across Skye’s shoulders before stroking his fingers from her neck and down her spine, something that normally calmed the vixen and nodded slowly. “You’re right on several points,” he agreed. “Judy and I are both off next weekend. Carrots gets to work on a rookie while I get more cross training, but we’ll get the entire weekend. Do you want her to come here, or maybe a neutral location like the park…” He left the suggestion open, letting Skye choose the place to meet his mother. It was the least he could do with her admission and request.

“The park sounds fine, but I don’t want the kits present.  She doesn’t get to meet them until we’ve come to an understanding.  My sister will be in town next week, I can probably get her to watch them for a few hours.”  Skye looked up at Nick and jabbed a finger at him. “But don’t you think for one minute that I’ll accept anything less than the truth from her.  If she’s the same witch she used to be, it’s over.”

The red fox threw his paws up in a placating gesture. “Anything you say, Snowball. I’m just happy that you’re the one that wants to talk. You’ll get no argument from me.”

Neither had realized that Judy had slipped from the living room area until she came back in from putting Virgil and Jasmine in their bassinet, a hopeful look on her face that turned into a grin as she jumped to the back of the green corduroy couch to hug both of the foxes from behind. “At least it’s a start, right?” she enthused. “Now hurry up and finish eating so we can have some group grooming and then some dessert!”

Nick pulled his attention away from the intense glare of Skye’s shifting blue eyes and glanced around the various container. “What dessert?”

Judy was already pulling her top off and grinned lasciviously at her mates. “What dessert...dumb fox,” she husked.

Skye moved to join them, her earlier fatigue and depression forgotten.


	4. Chapter 4

A week had passed and Skye had continued to be nervous about the upcoming confrontation.  She would see her sister again, however, for the first time in more than six years. The two of them had corresponded after Skye got back, but Rachel was a thousand miles away taking classes at a prestigious university and it wasn’t until this week that she’d had the chance to come back home.  Skye and Nick paid for her plane ticket to return, and they were expecting Rachel, who insisted on not being picked up at the airport, to arrive at the apartment any moment.

Consequently, Skye was pacing the apartment, straightening up the same series of photos on the entertainment center, wiping down the spotless coffee table, and checking the children who were napping.  She was more nervous about seeing her sister again than she was about talking to Bethany, and she wasn’t sure why. Rachel was more than a decade younger than Skye and Nick, and after their mother died Nick basically raised Rachel with Skye and Bethany’s help.  Skye loved the girl and was excited to see her. And yet….

From the bathroom came the sound of running water as Nick was cleaning up and Judy shook her head as she watched Skye fidgeting over the apartment, the corners of the fox’s mouth turned down. It was the only outward display that Skye would give in regards to her nerves, but Judy now knew that inside her mate was a roiling mess of nerves and anxiety. Clucking her tongue, more to make sure that the vixen heard her and didn’t automatically react to a ‘sneaky’ approach, Judy slipped up to the fox and moulded herself to the shapely, lean hip.

“You know if you fuss too much you’re going to wind up breaking something or actually making a mess,” the doe admonished gently. “Unless that’s what you’re shooting for. I mean, it would be easier to clean an actual mess then imaging something that isn’t there.” She let her paw slip to the base of Skye’s tail and stroked it gently in an attempt to sooth her other fox. “Want me to toss some clothes out on the floor? Some of my panties? Oooo! How about some of the used diapers! That would give you something really good to clean!”

Skye snorted, despite herself.  “You’re an arse, you know.” She sat heavily on the sofa and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.  “I haven’t seen Rachel since before my last mission. When I saw her last, she was in  _ high school _ .  Now, she’s working on her master’s degree in physics.”  She sat up sharply and turned to face Judy, who had sat next to her, gesticulating as she spoke.  “What if I don’t know her anymore? What if she’s a completely different person? What if she hates me?”

Judy slung her leg over Skye’s lap after hopping up onto the couch and plopped herself down as her paws went to the spots just below the vixen’s ears. It was one of the few places that were guaranteed to put the fox into a relaxed state along with the occasional ringer run along the edges of her triangular ears. “Seriously? You two have been emailing and calling regularly. She may have changed, but it won’t be that much, and you’re sisters, babe. It’ll be fine. Besides, if you keep working yourself up you’re going to make yourself sick and we’re out of grass juice.” Judy leaned forward and brushed her nose against Skye’s before giving the fox a soft kiss. “It’ll be fine, okay?”

Skye sighed, trying to let the tension fade a bit.  “You’re right. It’ll be fine. I’m better than this.”  She snorted again, then chuckled. “I can face down mob bosses and enemy agents and snipers, but when I face family I turn into a mess.”

“That goes for almost everyone, silly fox,” Judy assured her with a little bit longer kiss.

At the same moment, then, that the shower turned off, there was a soft knock at the door.  Skye leaped up, dumping Judy on the floor on the way, her paws shaking as she took the long way round the sofa to get to the door.  “Oh god she’s here,” whispered Skye as she peeked through the peephole. She sucked in a deep breath, then opened the door.

Standing outside, a duffle bag slung over her shoulder and a backpack nearly identical to Skye’s in paw, was a young vixen who looked very like Skye.  She had a somewhat more boyish figure with seafoam green eyes rather than Skye’s very feminine curves and indeterminant blue eyes, but the resemblance was clear.  

The young woman squealed loudly and dropped her bags as she grabbed Skye roughly in a tight embrace.

“Omygodyou’rehere,” said Rachel.  “Where  _ is _ here?  It smells like rabbit.  What happened to Mom’s apartment?”

Skye stepped back when Rachel let go of her.  “It was rented out to someone else when I was in the desert, because I couldn’t make payments on it.  Um, I’m living here now.” Skye took Rachel’s bags, closed the door, and set them aside, then gestured at Judy, who had picked herself up and was brushing herself off.  “This is Judy Hopps, she’s my girlfriend. Judy, my sister Rachel.”

Judy had gotten to her feet as Skye was lovingly mauled by the younger vixen and rubbed her left buttock as she stepped forward and held out her right paw. “Glad to finally meetcha, Rachel!” she said brightly. “Skye’s told me a lot about you.” There was a moment of hesitation as the doe wondered if a more rabbit like greeting would be acceptable and stopped at the last second before opening her arms in an invitation for a hug and extended her paw a little further.

Rachel pulled Judy into a hug, and threw Skye a thumbs up behind Judy’s back.  When they parted, Rachel looked down at Judy with her head tilted. “Damn, girl, she’s hot.”  She looked back at Skye, raising an eyebrow. “How the hell did you end up with  _ her _ ?”

Her ears turning pink at the unexpected embrace and complement, Judy chuffed in response. “I think I was the one that lucked out! You know it’s secret that rabbits are completely jealous of a really gorgeous tail, and Skye and-”

Before Judy could finish her statement the bathroom door opened and Nick emerged with a curious expression, his lean frame clad only in a towel that was a couple of inches to short and left his right leg exposed. “Did I hear someone come in?” he managed before almost being bowled over, his emerald eyes widening in surprise as his ears flicked back at the Nick-seeking vixen projectile that once more left Judy on the floor.

“NickNickNickNickNick,” yelled Rachel as she collided with him, throwing her legs about his waist and her arms around his neck in a tight hug.  “Holy shit you’re here too, what is happening!”

Skye blinked owlishly after Rachel.  “What the hell,” she muttered.

Judy once more got to her feet as she gave a sour look at the young fox climbing her and Skye’s mate, the surge of jealousy passing quickly. Now if only the abuse her rump was taking would dissipate as quickly. “It’s cool, babe. I’ve got relatives that are a lot worse. And they travel in hordes,” she said as her paw wrapped with Skye’s.

“Cripes, Snowflake! Take it easy on this old fox,” Nick mumbled as he returned the hug before prying the smaller fox off and setting her feet on the floor, catching the towel at the last moment to keep it from falling to the floor. “When the heck did you go and get all grown up?” He shook his head and nodded to the other two. “If someone can set up some drinks I’ll go get presentable and we can have a proper reunion.”

Despite his cavalier attitude it was easy for the rabbit and vixen to see that Rachel’s arrival was getting to Nick and it was more a ploy to give himself a moment to compose his emotions.

“That’s a good idea,” Judy agreed with a toss of her head at the momentarily forgotten bags Rachel had brought with her. “You want to get those put away and I’ll get some refreshments, yeah?”

Skye nodded.  “I warned you there isn’t a lot of room.  I think Nick has an air mattress, but we have the big green monster so probably you won’t need it.”  

Rachel came over and plopped on the green corduroy couch to which Skye had just referred, bouncing a bit as Skye took her bags and stacked them out of the way in a corner.  “I love this couch,” said Rachel. “It’s been, what...four years since I’ve seen it? No, five. Because I moved to the motherland as soon as I graduated, so that I could go to school.  I haven’t been back since; haven’t been able to afford to visit.” Her grin faded and her ears swept back. “I think the last time I slept on this couch was after your funeral,” she said to Skye, who came round to sit next to her.

Judy wanted to ask what the ‘motherland’ was but remained silent to give the sisters a chance to talk and catch up. She tried to be quiet, but not too quiet as to maintain an air of nonchalant normalcy. Still, her ears were perked and angled towards the living room.

“That was hard for me, you know,” continued Rachel in the silence.  “For us. You may not have lived with us, but you were always more my mother than Bethany or Mom was.”  There was no accusation in the tone, just an old ache.

“It wasn’t easy for me either,” murmured Skye. 

“You never said what happened, just that you were involved in the war.”

Skye shook her head with a bitter smile.  “I can’t. I was...a prisoner of war, for a long time.  That’s all I can say, the events haven’t been declassified yet.  I’ll say this, though, you were always right. I was a super-spy.”

Rachel chuckled.  “Seriously? You really are a spy?”

“Was,” said Skye.  “Was a spy.” Skye glanced over at Rachel’s bags, and changed the subject.  “Do you have all your medication? When do you take it?”

Rachel and Judy both had similar expressions, both having noticed the change in subject.  “I know how to handle my meds, Skye, I’ve been taking them for twenty-three years. So Nick,” she continued, raising her voice in the direction of the screened-off sleeping area, “how does it feel to see your childhood crush dating a rabbit instead of you?”

At the calling out of his name Nick came back into the living room area with a pained expression while waving his paws in an attempt to get Rachel to lower her voice. “I’ve got no problem with it,” he answered with an arched eyebrow tossed to Skye as a mischievous gleam sparkled in his eyes. “You know, when they get all naughty they let me watch. Sometimes I even take pictures. I think I’ve got some pretty good video on my phone still…”

Rachel turned her whole body to look at him with a shocked expression.  “Eww, Nick, that’s  _ creepy _ .” Then she looked at Judy.  “You let him  _ watch _ ??  Is this some weird rabbit thing??”

The doe shrugged as she brought out a tray of drinks and plastic glasses with ice, a bit of an exaggerated sway to her hips. “Well, we may let him do a little more than that. Besides, some of those videos were  _ hot _ !”

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” exclaimed Rachel.  Then her brow furrowed as it clicked in her head.  “Oh, Nick, you piece of shit. You had me questioning your sanity  _ and  _ your morals.”

The grin that the red fox gave was more than just smarmy and bordered on leering. “I figured you could draw your own conclusions, but I thought you were quicker than that. I think school’s dulled that edge of yours.” The red fox rolled his shoulders to finish setting the tee shirt that he wore, the dark green looking good against his rich fur before pouring the sodas. “Do me a favor, though, and keep your voice down just a touch? Aunties need to have better volume control.”

“I have jet-lag,” said Rachel more quietly.  “Holy shit, I forgot you had children now. That’s weird.”  She took a cup from the tray Judy brought out and drank from it.  “When are you meeting Bethany?” 

“In an hour,” said Skye, her anxiety spiking again.  “I’m not really looking forward to it.”

Rachel looked at her for a moment, frowning.  “Skye--”

“Don’t even start with me,” snapped Skye.  “We’re not having this argument again. I’m going to see her, I’ll listen to what she has to say, and I’ll make a decision then.  I’ve made concessions, okay? I’ve agreed to talk. I refuse to go more than half way.”

There was another moment of awkward silence. 

“Okay, that’s fair,” said Rachel.  “So where are these kits I’ll be watching?”

It was impossible for Nick or Judy to keep their expressions from softening. “C’mon,” the rabbit said as she beckoned to the younger vixen. “Let’s introduce you to Jasmine and Virgil.”

* * *

Skye watched the city flow past her window without really seeing it.  She sat in Nick’s car while he drove the three of them to the meeting place at the north end of the eight hundred acre Emerald View Park, and despite all the talk earlier she was still anxious about what was about to happen.  The kits were in good paws, which helped that anxiety level but made more room for imagining the various ways this meet-up could go wrong.

Before she knew it, however, the car pulled to a stop and was shut off in a parking lot adjacent to the park.  In silence, she climbed out of the car and stretched, a grim frown on her face as she looked around.

“Hey!” Judy said as she hip bumped the vixen after getting out of the car. “It’s going to be fine, Skye. Really.”

Nick only looked over at his mates as he closed his door, keeping silent but watching both carefully.

Skye shook her head.  “I haven’t spoken to her in so long, and I’ve held this hatred for just as long...It’s hard to let go.”  She sighed. “Let’s just get it over with.”

She led them into the park, down the cobblestone pathway, past families having picnics and couples on romantic walks, her pace never varying.  As they neared the fountain where they were to meet Bethany, her demeanor slipped from anxiety-ridden vixen to cool, collected professional; her face became a mask bearing a non-threatening if not pleasant expression.  

They rounded a bend around several trees, and there just ahead was the older red fox sitting on a bench.  Skye’s stomach turned sour, but she maintained her professional demeanor. To any who didn’t know her, she could have been meeting a client.

Though relaxed looking, Bethany Wilde was constantly scanning the mammals in the park and her ears shot straight up when she saw her son and Judy before slowly lowering at the stone faced arctic vixen that walked between them. Her creamy jade eyes locked with Skye’s and despite the emotionless visage, the indeterminate blue gaze caused Bethany’s tail to instinctually bristle as her hackles tried to raise under her simple yellow blouse. Calming herself and getting her sudden bout of nerves under control, the red fox stood and smoothed her slacks, needing to do something with her paws.

Needless to say Bethany had hoped that this day would eventually come and thought the chance was lost forever. She now had a chance to say things that had gnawed at her and there was a anticipatory glimmer of hope, but at the same time it terrified her.

With a sigh Bethany clasped her paws in front of her and tried to put a friendly smile on her muzzle, something that was a little easier with the presence of her son and his rabbit.

Skye hesitated a moment; her instinct was to spin a tale, say all the right things to put her target at ease.  This was not, she reminded herself, a job or a mission, and so that approach would not have been appropriate. She looked around, saw Judy and Nick holding back at a discrete but close distance.  The truth, she decided, was a good place to start, so she sat delicately on the edge of the fountain, not quite meeting Bethany’s eyes.

Before Skye could even open her muzzle, Bethany spoke.

“I thought you were dead,” the red fox half whispered, a small furrow forming between her brows.

“I was,” said Skye with a level tone.  “Several times. I worked with the government and was captured in a warzone; I spent three years as a prisoner of war, and another three years in intensive medical and psychological treatment to repair the physical and mental damage I sustained.”  Her tone remained level, almost clinical, an attempt to throw off Bethany’s mental balance as much as an effort to explain.

It was far from the response that Bethany had expected, instead bracing for some sort of rant, having Skye scream and swear at her, maybe even take a swing, and the younger vixen would have been well within her rights. What was said, though, was the last thing that the red fox anticipated. “Oh,” she replied meekly, lowering her head. “I...Nick told me that you did some sort of government work, but then…” She wrung her paws together and shook her head. “I’m sorry, Skye.”

The end of Skye’s tail began to twitch erratically and she took a breath.  “I should thank you,” said Skye, avoiding the apology. “Thanks to you, I had exactly the kind of childhood that makes a good spy.  In a way my entire career was your doing.” The slightest note of accusation entered her voice, despite herself.

Bethany nodded and sat down with a couple of feet between her and Skye. “Tragic childhood,” the red fox said quietly. “I’ve read enough intrigue and spy novels. And you’re right. It’s my fault.” The older fox took a deep breath and let it out before a shiver ran down her spine. “I wronged you, Skye. About as much as one mammal can do another this side of rape and death. There’s nothing I can do to make it up to you, and there’s nothing I can do to change it.

“I owe you a debt, I won’t lie or try and belittle the fact that I ruined your life. And what I did hurt my best friend...your mother. That’s why Nick and I took Rachel in, Skye. It was the least I could do after Tanny passed. What I did to Tanaraq...well, it would have been kinder to cut her and let her bleed out.”

Bowing her head, Bethany Wilde closed her eyes tightly with the emotions that came with the memories and decisions that still haunted her. 

“I don’t know, Skye. Maybe...maybe we can talk and meet somewhere in the middle. You will never be able to judge me any harsher than I judge myself every day I roll out of bed.”

Skye took a moment to frown at her, just short of gaping.  She was unprepared for what had been said, and she compensated by letting the flare of indignation control her next words. 

She sat forward sharply and jabbed a finger at Bethany.  “No, you don’t get to say that to me. You don’t get to sit there and cry and plead for understanding.”  Her voice rose in volume as she spoke, nearly shouting the last statement, “not until you  _ tell me why _ .  Why it was appropriate to destroy a little girl’s relationship with her  _ mother _ over a goddamn  _ skirt _ .  Don’t you dare try to apologize to me until you explain yourself!”

Bethany lifted a paw towards her son for him to stay where he was. The older vixen then turned to the rightfully indignant younger one and looked at her unflinchingly. “Fair. And you deserve an explanation.” She adjusted her tail and found some point on the other side of the path to gaze at, but it wasn’t the flowers that Bethany examined intensely, but a different time. “I don’t need to explain to you how bad foxes have had it, and it was even worse back when Tanny and I were your age, Skye. If you were a fox you had to work twice as hard as everyone else for half the money, and no matter what, no one ever trusted you. And they were the dirtiest of jobs, the worst conditions, but there were even things that were lower than digging ditches or sanitation or menial crap for a pawful of scraps.

“You see, if you were an attractive enough vixen you could make decent money lifting your tail. Other mammals might have distrusted us and treated vulpines like servants or even slaves, but there were no shortage of males that wanted to bed us.” As she spoke Bethany Wilde’s voice grew flatter and colder as did her general demeanor. “Go hungry enough times and you’ll do just about anything to go to bed without your stomach rumbling and gurgling. Maybe the first time you take a client you cry, but having a hot meal afterwards makes it seem...well, not nearly as bad. By the tenth you realize that you sort of enjoy it. Maybe you even have a little power over mammals that wouldn’t look at you twice any other time.

“Then the day comes where you finally look in a mirror and realize that maybe you haven’t just been selling your cunt or a blowjob, but you’ve whored out your very soul to people that aren’t even worth it. But worse is trying to get out of that life, to claw yourself free, to get to a point that you can actually stand your own reflection without feeling shame, and not worrying about someone else explaining to your son that mommy is a whore.

“That day I saw you wearing that skirt...Skye, I honestly thought that that was what you were doing, that you were selling yourself. I...I didn’t want you to be like me. I didn’t think Tanaraq would do what she did, though, but she helped me out of being a fuck-for-hire, and she saw what it did to me. That and I sincerely believe that at that point her ability to think was compromised and that her illness affected her emotions. It wasn’t until afterwards that I realized what a dreadful mistake I’d made, but by then it was too late.”

Skye clenched her jaw and her fists as she sat back, her ears flat back against her skull.  She felt that surge of indignation from moments before curdle into fury, but she held herself tightly silent.  A small portion of her mind, the part Jack Savage had trained her to keep detached no matter the situation, understood that part of that fury was at the situation and the other was that old anger toward Bethany, which now seemed...not unfounded, but perhaps a little stale.  Anger was always easier to hold onto than hope, more seductive than understanding, and it rose up in her in a final effort to not die, pushing Skye to not surrender to her better impulses.

After several long moments, Skye realized her eyes were squeezed shut and her breath held.  She released her breath hard and looked back up at Bethany. 

“I spent five years hopping from couch to couch.  The only friend I truly trusted was off limits to me, because he was  _ your son _ .”  Skye stopped, took a deep breath in an effort to stop herself from shouting again.  “How do you know I  _ didn’t _ end up in others’ beds for my own shelter and food?  My mother forced me to leave at  _ thirteen _ , I had no choice but to rely on the good will of others.  How far does good will extend to  _ vixens _ ?”

Bethany shook her head. “If there was one fox in this city that wouldn’t give in, it would have been you. But I didn’t know, Skye. I didn’t, and you truly cannot hate me for that more than I do myself. It was my fault and I’m sorry, but there is nothing that I can possibly say to make the past up to you. There’s nothing I can do to make it right. And I know you’ve hated me. I deserve that hate. I will always deserve that hate.”

The red fox turned and faced the younger vixen.

“But no matter what, I don’t hate you. I never have. I suppose that’s the best that I can do other than apologize for all of the pain and the suffering that I caused.” She waited several seconds for something, anything, then finally glanced at her watch. “I’m a little late for work, but that really doesn’t matter. Right now, trying to salvage what I can of our pasts is more important.” Bethany let her eyes soften. “Even if it’s so you can scream and hate me, you deserve at least that much.”

Skye took another deep breath.  Her impulse was to scream, to throw something, to yell at Bethany that she  _ had no right to be so defenseless _ .  She wanted to smack that sad, defeated look off the woman’s face.

Instead, she swallowed those impulses down, gazed at the ground between them.  “Eight days ago, I fainted in the street. We were coming back from the Pride rally, and I had been too stressed, not taking care of myself only weeks after giving birth.  When I woke, a lioness was hovering over me. Post traumatic stress kicked in and I attacked her.”

Skye looked up at Bethany.  “I spent three years being intensely trained by psychologists to let go of the abuse I suffered, and I knew that I was over it.  Just as I knew that you are an  _ irredeemable bitch _ .  But then I attacked a paramedic who was only trying to help, because my fight or flight reflex was triggered.”  She looked down again and her voice lowered. “It’s difficult, facing the idea that you are not the white knight you thought you were.  It’s more difficult still to just...overlook two decades worth of hatred and anger. It becomes comfortable, after awhile, like a well worn pair of gloves.”

Skye sighed deeply, and scrubbed her face with her paws.  “If Proposition 87 is passed, I’ll be marrying your son right along with Judy.  That’s why I’m here.” Skye stood up and gazed down at Bethany for a silent moment.  “Don’t expect a change overnight. That’s not how this works.” 

She turned from Bethany and walked away.

Bethany watched the younger vixen walk away even as her son and Judy drew closer, both with tense expressions. “Nicholas Piberius Wilde, you wipe that petulant look off your face right now. That girl has all the right in the world to hate me and be pissed off. Hopefully we can at least be civil to each other at family to-do’s if this was any indication.” She accepted a warm embrace from Judy then slugged her son in the arm. “And that’s for not telling me she was back in town sooner, Nicky.”

“The hell, Mom,” Nick said rubbing his upper arm but seeing the arch expression and smirk his mother wore challenging him to refute her. “You’re right. I should have called sooner. We need to skidaddle soon, though. Rachel had a long trip and we don’t want her to get too frazzled with the kits.” He kissed his mother’s cheek and gave her a hug. “Oh, and you should have some more pics in your email already.”

Bethany nodded. “I was already looking at them,” she told the pair. “Go on, now. I need to head to work and you should go take care of Skye. This wasn’t easy on her. It’s a start, and we have a long way to go, but don’t push this, Nick. Give her time and space to make her own mind up.”

And with that Bethany turned and headed off in the opposite direction as Nick and Judy went to offer support and comfort to the vixen that they both loved.

It took them going all the way back to the parking lot, where Skye was leaning against the low wall on the lot perimeter.  There was the roar of loud voices in the distance, as if a riot or huge party was happening, and an officer was hurrying in that direction away from Skye.

“What in hell is going on?” asked Nick as he and Judy reached Skye.

“It passed,” said Skye, her voice rough with exhaustion.  “Proposition 87 passed. Group marriage is legal. The announcement went out a few minutes ago and people are celebrating.”

“That’s good news,” chirped Judy energetically.  

Skye nodded, leaning into Nick when he embraced her from behind.  “Let’s go home.” The experience had taxed Skye’s mental energy to the limit, and all she wanted to do was take a nap.

“Good idea,” said Judy, gently kissing Skye’s shoulder.  Together, the triad got in the car and made their way home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple notes to make here. First, we've adjusted Rachel's canonical age relative to Skye. We felt a larger age gap better suited the relationship we wanted to have between Skye and Rachel, and between Nick and Rachel. At this point, Skye and Nick are 35. Rachel is 23. This means that when Skye was kicked out, Rachel was an infant and when their mother died Rachel was six. 
> 
> The second note: we touched heavily on a very sensitive topic here, specifically prostitution. We'd like to note here that Bethany's experiences as described are not the experiences all full service sex workers have, nor do they necessarily reflect our own opinions and attitudes on the subject. It's a very broad subject with lots of unique experiences and perspectives, and the perspective we shared here is only one of those many.
> 
> The third note, Sophie speaking: I believe the plan is for us to have at least one more chapter, but we neglected to discuss the plans beyond this chapter in any great detail. As such, this _could_ serve as the conclusion to the story. I don't believe that will be the case; rather, I believe the plan was to go into the wedding at some point, and I don't think we have a clear idea precisely how we want to handle the actual ceremony yet. We've been batting some ideas back and forth, but haven't come to a consensus. As such, it may take a bit of time for us to get through this next bit. Please bear with us as we work on it.
> 
> And finally, as always, we hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be aware, this chapter contains content of a sexual nature.

The ride back to the apartment was quiet.  Skye listened to Nick and Judy quietly discussing arrangements for the wedding in a few weeks, her head laid back against the headrest, eyes closed.  Her chest was tight with the stress of what had just transpired. Now that the actual confrontation was over she was struggling to come to terms with her feelings about it.  It was simple to say that Bethany’s point of view made a certain amount of sense; it was far more difficult to accept that point of view and let go of the anger she’d held for so many years.  

When they made it back to the apartment, Skye still didn’t add to the murmured conversation.  Instead, the moment the door opened Skye decided abruptly to go again; she snagged her backpack from near the door where she’d left it and slipped back out again.

Judy had padded to the divider that separate the bedroom area from the rest of the apartment and jerked to a stop, her ears flicking fully erect before lowering down her back slowly. Without turning she waved her paw to get the others to join her, pointing to the bed when Nick stepped up. Sprawled in the middle of the large bed that would have been more than enough for mammals twice her size, Rachel lay with the twins on her chest, all three slumbering blissfully, though Virgil was stretched out across his aunt’s stomach on his back with mouth open and tongue lolling out. It was a trait that he’d definitely inherited from his father, Nick being quite the sprawler when he slept alone.

“Have you ever seen anything that cute and funny?” Judy inquired softly as she went back to holding her bottom lip between her teeth to keep from laughing aloud.

“You know, you’re getting mighty free-pawed with that word,” Nick chided affectionately with a quick nuzzle between the doe’s ears. “Keep it up and you’ll get in trouble.”

Judy snorted softly. “I’m a bunny,” she quipped while continuing into the bedroom area to get more comfortable clothing. “I get a free pass, thank you.” Though they normally went about the apartment in the nude or maybe underwear, all three had decided that with Rachel visiting a bit more modesty might be in order unless the young vixen indicated otherwise. It wasn’t until she had a pair of loose shorts and one of Nick’s old shirts tied into a midriff that Judy realized the other third of their family unit was missing. She stepped smartly to the divider and scanned the living room area and kitchen before her paws went to her hips. “Well, nuts. Where’d she get to this time? I know that she went through a lot today and probably wants some quiet to chew it over, but do you think that she could just tell us for once that she’s taking off? Backpack’s gone, too, so that’s a pretty good indication she’ll be out for a while.”

Nick followed his rabbit mate’s lead and looked around before shrugging. “It would be nice,” he agreed as he pulled the shirt he’d started removing back on. “And I have an idea where that someplace to get quiet might be. Do you mind ordering something to feed the snowflake when she wakes up? We might be a while.”

Judy shook her head even as she jumped up and latched onto the red fox’s neck and kissed him soundly, liking the cool of his nose and the way it contrasted to the warmth of his muzzle and lips. “That sounds like an idea,” the rabbit agreed as she slid back to the carpet. “In the meantime I need to get some pics of that,” she said indicating the fur pile on their bed. “Skye would pinch my tail if I didn’t get some shots of that!”

With a chuckle and slight jerk at the playful pinch to the base of his tail Nick left the apartment, a strange sensation of deja vu hitting him as he trotted down the stairs in an effort to expend some of the excess energy brought on by a touch of irritation at Skye’s departure, though completely understanding that this was simply how his and Judy’s mate dealt with things.

A minor side stop wouldn’t be a bad idea either, Nick thought as he exited the building.

* * *

It had been a quite large squirrel sized bungalow once, many years ago, but now it was little more than a ruin.  At the very top of the rainforest district nestled in the shadows away from one of the main walkways in the treetops, Nick and Skye had found the shack in high school.  They came here after their prom, and after that it had become something of a retreat for Skye. Nick never understood why she loved the tiny space, the open two-story interior just large enough to hold them both comfortably and little else, but she’d always come here when she was in trouble or facing difficult choices.

She’d been there only fifteen minutes, sitting against the back wall with her tail curled round her legs and her bag nestled in the corner next to her, when she heard Nick approaching outside.  She was reminded of the last time she’d been here, shortly after she returned to Zootopia to find Nick shocked and angry that she was alive, tragically in love with someone else.

“I’m here, Skye,” said Nick as he pushed aside the vines and greenery draping the doorway, pushing a bag in before him.

“If that’s food I might not shoot you,” said Skye with a smirk.

The smirk was returned, though instead of the mischievous sparkle to his emerald eyes that would have once accompanied the expression there was a deep, warm affection in them. “Absolutely, darlin’. Judy’s making sure that Rachel is going to get something, so I figured we could cheat a little. Battered fish this time, though,” he said as held up the laden bag complete with splotches of grease that had soaked into the paper sack. Like the last time they’d played this scene out, Nick handed the entire bag to Skye and pulled out two cans of soda from his back pockets. “Eat up, Snowball!”

Skye pulled food out, passing some over to Nick.  “I need the protein,” she said as she stuffed a piece of fish in her mouth.  “Ugh, ‘m starved,” she continued around the food. 

They ate quietly for a few minutes before Skye stole a glance at Nick, her ears swept back.  “Is she mad at me?”

“Hmm?” Nick intoned around a mouthful of food. “Judy?” he got out after swallowing. “Nah. She just wished you’d say something before vanishing. Carrots knows that sometimes you need to get off alone to process things, and today was a lot to process.”

Skye sighed and leaned her head against the wall.  “I know.” She gestured vaguely with the fish she was holding.  “I just...I forget, you know? Being alone outside the current mission...being alone except my enemies...I know it’s been a few months since things settled between the three of us, but it’s still...habit, I guess.  I forget that saying something to someone about where I’m going is a  _ good _ thing.  I know that I have a support network, now.  You two, Rachel is back in my life again. Officer Fangmeyer and Simen Wolfard.”  She trailed off for a moment, then looked back at Nick. “I’m trying, I suppose is my point.  I’ll...get the hang of having a team again, I promise. Eventually.”

Nick crumpled his sandwich wrapper and put it in the bag while setting the half-eaten cardboard tube of fried crickets to the side before shifting so that he was sitting next to the vixen. With a warm, content smile that had nothing to do with the food Nick slipped his arm around Skye and pulled the two of them closer. “Yeah. It’s a learning curve for all of us,” he agreed. “Then again, it will certainly keep things interesting, won’t it?”

Skye leaned into him.  “I suppose so.” She chewed on the last bit of fish she’d been waving about a moment earlier while she thought about things.  Once she’d swallowed and finished off her drink, she nudged Nick’s side. “Do you remember the first time we came here?”

Nick nodded slowly as memories surfaced. In a very real way it  _ was _ a lifetime ago. They’d both been so different, so young. And like all memories that hadn’t been dusted off in a while, the recollections were bittersweet. “Prom. For the love of the Mother of Foxes, what a time that was…”

For Nick it was a bit more bitter as his view of the world had been tainted by the anger that he’d carried inside him. His temper had been his biggest weakness. Fortunately that was in the past, and one of the mammals that was most directly responsible for getting the red fox past that was pressed against his side.

“God, I hated high school,” murmured Skye.  “And Prom just tied it up with a pretty little matching bow, didn’t it?  It’s sort of funny that we found our way here after that disaster. I remember how stupid this place seemed.  Just some crappy rodent house that used to be grand, abandoned and now some high school kids with too many hormones and not enough sense were cramped inside, wet and horny.  Torn dress, missing tie….” She snorted. “Goodness, it was so bad. I regretted not sleeping with you that night, though, for years. Didn’t regret not walking you home, I think the whole neighborhood heard your mom yelling at you.”  She tensed a bit as she remembered Bethany. 

Nick’s snort was almost a perfect match for Skye’s and he tightened his hold around her shoulders as he felt the tightening of her muscles. His mother would be a sore subject for a while. “You regretted it? I think I was so worked up that my balls ached for a week. Probably for the best, though. Young and dumb was no way to go with adding kits to the problem.” He sighed and let his head touch hers, both of their ears twitching before they acclimated to the contact and he closed his eyes as a myriad of  _ ‘what-if’s’ _ flitted through his imagination. None of them really had what one could call a happy ending. “I think...I think that it’s for the best the way things turned out. I know I needed to grow the hell up. I needed...I needed to let that rage go.”

Despite the comfort of leaning against one of his mates, Nick sat up and turned to the arctic vixen with a curious expression. 

“You know, you’re like SuperVixen for putting up with me back then,” Nick half teased, the other half in awe of Skye’s determination, fortitude and compassion. “I was an asshole.”

“I had plenty of rage myself,” said Skye.  “I suppose it balanced against yours. Besides, I had to make sure Rachel was being raised right.”  Her tail swished and her ears twitched as something occurred to her. She pulled away and looked at Nick with a look of bemused disquiet. “Has it ever occurred to you that Rachel could almost be my daughter?  Think about it. She looks a lot like me, acts a lot like me, I helped raise her....technically, she’s young enough that I could have given birth to her.”

“That’s...that’s sort of disturbing to think about,” Nick muttered as he rubbed his head between his ears. “I mean, I guess…” his expression grew thoughtful for a moment before he shook the idea away. “Nope. Not going to go there. That’s one of those lines of thinking that’ll keep me awake if I keep going.” In an effort to distract Skye, Nick hauled the vixen onto his lap and snuffled the fur just below her ear. “As for kits, we have two beautiful ones back home.”

Skye hummed at his attentions, but the smirk that graced her muzzle faded quickly.  “Nick, I don’t want your mom to help raise our kits.”

The budding warmth that he felt fizzled quickly and it was like an invisible weight settled on his shoulders and soul and Nick was incapable of keeping the slightly exasperated sigh from escaping his muzzle. “I can’t cut my mom out of their lives completely, Skye…”

“Hang on,” interrupted Skye.  “I wasn’t finished. I understand, okay?  What she did was wrong, but I understand why she did it.  But understanding isn’t enough, Nick, and apologizing to me doesn’t cut it.”  She clambered off his lap and turned to face him with a bit of space between them, hugging her torso.  “The way she described sex work was toxic. I get it, okay? She experienced it in the worst possible way, and that colored her view, but I refuse to allow my children to be taught those ideas, even by implication.”

She hesitated and looked down.  “I saw another side to that life, you know.  Still borne of circumstances rather than a desire to do it, but I have another perspective.  I won’t let her shape our kits’ attitudes on sex. Not even by osmosis. If you want her to be involved, she needs to see somebody.  Someone who can help her move past the abuse she suffered. That’s my condition. She...she deserves help, Nick.”

“You understand part of the why,” Nick said softly, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he dredged up other memories, darker ones, missing the reaction from Skye as his attitude changed. “There’s a little more to it. Do you remember when I had to go stay with my uncle for a month when we were ten?”

“Vaguely?”  She shrugged.  “Nobody would tell me why it was so important.  You were never so close with the guy.”

Nick nodded, his eyes still slightly glazed as he kept from meeting her gaze. “Mom was still working. The money was alright, but I know she wanted more. Anyway, there was a client that had become a regular. One night he met up with mom at his usual time and place, but something was wrong...off. He did his business, but then refused to pay mom for the session. Then he got nasty. Started pushing her around. When she tried to flee he gut punched her. It was like a switch had been thrown. He got vicious, almost...well...savage. He continued hitting her and kicking her. Then he raped her, stomped her tail which is why it still has that strange bend to it, raped her again…”

With a trembling breath Nick lifted his paws and rubbed at his face before continuing.

“It was pretty bad. I didn’t know any of this until much later, after you left to be honest. Apart from going to the hospital and having to stay there for a week and then the rest of the month recovering with friends, mom lost the kits she was carrying. I would have had two little brothers and a sister, but the beating she got…”

Nick lifted his head, his eyes finally focusing on the vixen before him.

“She still has bad dreams, but it left scars that you can’t see. She doesn’t begrudge anyone doing what they need to or want to make a living, but she was terrified of something like that happening to someone that she knew.” Nick let that sink in before continuing. “And she doesn’t really want to raise our kits. She  _ does _ want to spoil them completely rotten with the gramma thing, though.” Without asking or waiting, he pulled the vixen onto his lap once more and held her with a gentle firmness and rested his head against her breasts as he let out a sigh, the sound of Skye’s heart beat calming him. “And I don’t expect that to suddenly and magically make everything all cake and icing, but a little knowledge does go a long way. You already did the hard part earlier, so I won’t push this any further. You do what you do in your own time, alright?”

Skye pulled back again with a frown, but didn’t move from his lap.  “Nick, you’ve proved my point. She is incapable of being objective.  I don’t want her watching our children until she starts seeing a therapist.”

Nick snorted as he nuzzled further against the warmth of Skye’s body. “That’s not a problem. She’s been seeing a therapist for a while now. Her wife wouldn’t let her  _ not _ see someone.”

Skye shoved a pointed finger in his face, holding it there with a stern look for nearly a full minute in silent impotence as she tried to form a cogent response.

Finally, she huffed petulantly and jabbed the finger.  “She doesn’t get to meet my children until  _ I’m _ convinced.  From what I saw earlier she’s got a lot of work to do.”

Instead of answering immediately Nick lifted his head from it’s rather happy resting place to kiss his mate full on the lips. “As you wish, love.”

The tension broke as Skye snickered.  “Love. Gods help us. I don’t think we could have had a worse place and time to confess.”

“What do you mean?” asked Nick, tilting his head in confusion.

“A few months ago, when I first came back,” said Skye.  “Remember? It was cold and wet and you were pissed off at me and I was hurt and jealous and angry at Judy for stealing you from me, and we bared our souls to each other.  I told you what I’d gone through, and then at the worst possible time I just blurted out how in love I’d been with you for years.”

Nick grinned at the recollection and how things had changed so suddenly, drastically, and all for the better. “We all had to get to that point.” He shifted the way that Skye was on his lap and slipped a paw under the edge of her shirt, his claws teasing the fur of her trim tummy and the skin underneath. “And all with a cute bunny thrown into the mix,” he added softly. “Any regrets about our situation?”

“Getting here sucked,” said Skye equally as softly, her fingers tracing the shape of his ear.  “But I can’t argue with the results.”

“No,” Nick agreed softly. “Getting here sucked, but it was completely worth it.” He let his gaze soften as his eyes met the mercurial blue of his vixen mate, their present color something of a deep sapphire with a grey hue. He loved Skye’s eyes as they always seemed to shift and change. The happier she was, the deeper the shade they seemed, like gems that changed in the light. Then, as awareness set in, he noticed her scent.

Judy’s scent always reminded Nick of sweet grass, a sort of late spring or summery smell. Skye had a crisp, earthy aroma to her. Both could cause him to react with just the natural smells they gave off, but just then there was something that was completely Skye, and Nick swallowed reflexively as the hint of violets reached his nose. Before he could even think about what he was doing, the paw that wasn’t stroking the soft, fine fur of her trim belly slipped down her side and haunch to cup the fullness of her cheek.

Skye’s eyes widened slightly at the subtle grope before her lids dropped slightly, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth. It was all she could do not to chuckle when she wiggled a little where she sat, her tail swishing back and forth languidly as warmth suffused her that had nothing to do with the humid air of the Rainforest District and filled the abandoned home with her most personal of scents. “Nick? That night after prom…what if I had said yes?”

It took a moment for the question to work its way through to the red fox’s brain, and instead of answering verbally, Nick decided to show his mate, actions, after all, speaking louder than words.

Leaning forward, Nick slowly buried his nose in the rich fur of Skye’s neck and throat, drinking in her light, sweet musk before nipping lightly at little spots that drew a hiss from the arctic vixen. It was impossible for her not to arch her back in response as she lifted her head straight up, eyes closing at the teasing of certain erogenous zones that they’d discovered she possessed. When he turned the nips into an energetic nuzzle that brought him up to the base of her ear, Nick simply fanned the building heat and ardor by flicking his tongue against the edge of her sensitive ear. The damp heat that caressed Skye combined with the warmth of her mate’s breath drew a high gasp of carnal hunger from her throat that was interrupted only by her panting.

Nick’s paws weren’t idle, and with the responses from Skye he started to let his paws wander her body. It was an exploration that never ceased to thrill or delight as he relearned the vixen on his lap by sheer touch. She was a marvel, of that there was no denying, and Nick found that he loved her lithe frame, the supple muscle that resided beneath luxurious fur. Even her scars were intriguing, telling a story of the things Skye had endured, the adventures.

By far, though, the most important thing was that she was here, real and warm, and that they, along with Judy, were a family.

So lost was Skye in the attention that Nick was paying to her, the sensations and appetites he was awakening, that she was unaware that he’d turned and began to lay her down on the aged floor. It didn’t bother her, the feel of damp wood beneath her body, not with the places that Nick touched, the pets and strokes at different points of her body. She was only vaguely aware of her mate making sure that her tail was in a comfortable position. No matter how riled up he got, he was always aware of her and Judy’s comfort and wellbeing.

“So,” the red fox husked as he pushed up a little, his emerald eyes heavy with desire and love, “what are your plans for after prom?”

With a smile Skye answered her mate by lifting the bottom  edge of his shirt to pull it completely off, Nick letting her before responding in kind. Once his shirt was free, the vixen let it fall to the wood planks of the floor, her smile growing as Nick began to remove her own. It was a simple short sleeved blouse, and beneath that a strapless halter. Normally Skye eschewed such garments, but with the kits her breasts had filled with milk and while not overly large, having some support was prudent and comfortable. Both bits were placed on his discarded shirt to keep them as clean as possible.

When Nick slid his paws down her body Skye reacted by lifting her rump up, making the task of removing her loose shorts much easier. It was Nick’s expression at her choice of underwear that made that little bit worthwhile. Not long ago she and Judy had both gone shopping and chose ensembles that were the same style, but in colors that matched their eyes. Nick’s mouth fell open as he discovered that the vixen was wearing boyshorts in a sort of cerulean, the very feminine panties emphasizing the modest flair of Skye’s hips and taught belly all while accentuating her backside.

“Why, Mister Wilde,” the arctic fox teased with a smarmy grin, “are you drooling?”

Nick nodded as he licked at his chops, his gaze drinking in the sight before him. “I believe I am. You are drool-worthy, darlin’,” he admitted in a deep rumble.

Before Skye could tease him any further the red fox bent over her, his fingers working under the waistband of her underwear. As he began to pull them down, he graced her tummy with kisses, nuzzles and nibbles for every inch bared. When Skye lifted her legs to aid in the divestment of the boyshorts Nick ran his cheek along the fur of her thighs, his nose working furiously as her personal scent increased and filled the small space, drowning out the smell of wet wood, moisture and plant growth. Then as the fabric came free, Nick paused a moment to sniff the thin, delicate cloth for a long moment, the breath he let out accompanied by a low growl of growing excitement and arousal that sent a shiver of anticipation up and down Skye’s spine. She did so love getting her mate worked up and it only increased her own growing yearning.

For Nick it was a challenge, to take the moment slowly as he exposed his mate completely, to not give in to the urge to dive in and ravish the vixen lying before him. It would have been done with reverence and joy, but their joining would have been ravishing nonetheless. As it was Nick’s head was already swimming with the pheromones that Skye surrounded them with, the heady aroma of feminine arousal, the dampening of her most private place. His eyes closed, for a moment longer, he let his sense of smell guide him, feeling Skye part her legs to accommodate her lover. When he finally opened his eyes it was to find Skye looking at him with an expression of guileless affection and love, of acceptance, and that last was the one thing that had been lacking from their relationship before she had vanished.

Acceptance.

Nick was finally worthy of the vixen that regarded him with love. He was something more than he’d been as a younger fox.

It was the same way that Judy looked at both of them.

“I love you, Skylar Toklo,” Nick whispered with complete honesty, a pang running through the very core of his being. She was right. Getting to this point had sucked, but the reward…

The reward was so very worth it.

Instead of replying, Skye took her lower lip between her teeth as her eyes glittered in the fitful light that filtered through the remains of the shutters on the grimy windows of the old domicile. A simple nod and brush of her fingers along the side of his face and down his shoulder and arm were all the response she could comfortably muster, not trusting the sound of her own voice. With that same touch, she beckoned her mate to partake of the gift of her body, of her heart, another nod following.

With permission given, Nick focused all of his attention on  _ showing _ Skye what she meant and giving her as much pleasure as he could. With gentle trailing caresses along the lay of her fur, the red fox moved his paws up the outside of the vixen’s legs until he could run light scratches to either side of her flat stomach while nestling the majority of his frame between her shapely legs, forcing her knees a little further apart and completely exposing his destination.

In the delta formed by her legs lay the core to Skye’s glory, the black, puffy outer lips of her vixenhood a sharp contrast to her normally white fur. The heat radiating from her center wafted over Nick’s nose and muzzle, the thick, heady aroma of her arousal growing stronger with the moisture that began to bead in the seam where the furless flesh met. His muzzle watering with the imminent feast before him, Nick gave a tentative lick, the wet warmth of his tongue causing Skye to moan softly.

Skye was more developed than Judy in the chest, but the red fox loved the unique flavors of both his mates. With growing desire causing a tightness in his own groin he alternated flicking licks of the succulent flesh before him and tonguing the lips thickening with arousal apart. Hugging himself to her lower body he was able to reach around her thighs, his fingers gently prying her labia apart until the ebony skin gave way to the rich, rose pink interior.

Skye relished the attention of her lover’s mouth to her center and let her eyes close, devoting her attention to all things carnal and good. The alternating sensations of warm tongue and cold nose had her gasping every other breath, though her entire body seized up when Nick rasped over her clit in a long, languid lick that sent an electric thrill directly to the center of her brain. The next caused the vixen to roll her hips down, pressing herself needily into the talented maw that was lovingly devouring her, all but humping Nick’s muzzle in the quest for release. Just a few teasing stokes was all it had taken for Nick to bring her to the cusp of her first orgasm. Then, just as she felt herself ready to tumble into the first climax, the red fox brought it crashing down when he drove forward, his long and very talented tongue slipping easily into her passage.

Back and forth Nick lapped deeply at her sacred place, touching her deep within and brought her to breath-stealing ecstasy. So intense was the moment that Skye’s back arched and she could have sworn that her heart stopped as light seemed to explode deep within her mind in time with the pulsating pleasure that surged in her loins.

“N…N-Nick!” the vixen whispered in a high, anguished keen. “Cu-cummmming! Ooooooh! Nick!” She gasped as her paws found his ears and head an implored him deeper into her body, desiring nothing more than her foxen mate to have his way with her. The second orgasm came right on the heels of the first, slamming into her like a runaway train, the intensity causing the arctic fox to sob softly as for one of the few times in her world, all was right and all was wonderful!

Wicking the taste of his mate from the fur of his muzzle, Nick lifted himself to look up the length of Skye’s body, the vixen panting in the afterglow of what he’d just done and smiled. There was nothing as satisfying as bringing his two mates pleasure, the act far more than mere physical release, but something borne of love. He had little time to enjoy the moment as Skye drew Nick over her with her paws cupped to either side of his head and coaxed him over her.

“I love it…when you…do…that…!” she panted happily, her tail twitching slightly between her thighs. “Let’s…get these…off…” the vixen breathed with one foot stroking his leg and the loose jeans he wore. She smiled when he wordlessly agreed, a smile stretching his damp muzzle.

Skye was less help than she would have liked, her head still spinning with rapture as her body sang with her orgasms. Between the two of them, Nick in minor desperation and Skye encouraging him with happy little chirps and the redolent aroma of eager and accepting vixen, they were able to divest the red fox of his pants. Then it was Skye’s turn to enjoy the view, finding the new toned, fit Nick quite delectable. Not that he hadn’t been in good shape before, but his time on the ZPD and regular gym days with both her and Judy had turned him into a vulpine god.

As a joke she and Judy had picked Nick up underwear that was, in truth, little more than strings and a pouch that contained his maleness, though the straps had been in tasteful colors like the present one of dark grey. Nick had said he actually found them to be comfortable as it was the next best thing to going Oasis Springs, a standing joke for being nude. Skye and Judy thought that it just made their mate too delicious looking. Skye watched as her mate freed himself from the pouch of fabric that looked strained in an attempt to contain his genitals, and her smile grew lascivious when the deep red flesh of his erection was exposed, his full length unsheathed. Fortunately his knot hadn’t begun to form yet. Before the fox could guide himself to the warm invite of her body, Skye sat up and cupped his gravid balls in her paws.

Skye closed her eyes at the smell of Nick’s crotch, the sweet, tangy aroma telling a primal part of her that he was a strong, virile male. Like he had earlier, she let her nose guide her to the rod of searing flesh, wanting to simply roll herself in that smell, have his personal scent all over her body. While similar to other foxes, there were parts to it that told her that this was her mate, her Nick. When her whiskers brushed the length of him her tongue slipped out and she gave his entire length a languorous lick that started at his base and ran to the very tip, his scent becoming a taste and so much more.

She had discovered that orally pleasuring her mate was something that was beyond enjoyable, but the manner that Nick responded told her that he was fairly worked up and it wouldn’t take long or much work to tumble him. Opening her stormy blue eyes, Skye looked up at her mate as she placed a lingering kiss on the end, loving how all he could do was watch her, his muzzle slightly open and his paws splayed wide at his sides with the feelings and sensations that she gave him. There was only one way that she wanted her mate to take her at that moment and spun around as she got to all fours, her tail lifting up so that she was completely exposed. Despite all of her independence and strength Skye’s favorite position when she and Nick made love was primitive, her mate mounting her in the manner of their unevolved ancestors of the misty past.

Nick’s paws grasped her by the hips and it was enough to cause Skye to arch her back in response, a thrill of anticipation running through her frame. A smoldering look cast back over her shoulder was all the encouragement that Nick needed and he simply shifted his hips to align himself with her opening before prodding her swollen labia. With a sigh that came from both, the red fox pushed inexorably forward in a single long stroke, Skye growling with the feeling of her lover filling her perfectly, Nick with the liquid heat and pressure that gripped him as his vixen parted to allow his entry.

“Sweet Karma!” Skye whispered under her breath, pushing back so that last fraction of an inch so that the end of Nick’s foxhood kissed the bottom of her womb while the length of flesh rubbed along that spot deep within all females that brought the greatest, most satisfying pleasure.

Their dance began in earnest then, Nick rolling his hips in a fluid manner that provided a continuous circuit of advance and retreat, plumbing Skye’s depths in the most fulfilling manner, heat, friction and the wetness produced by her body giving ample lubrication. At first it was easy to maintain her breathing, exhaling as Nick plumbed her channel, inhaling upon his withdrawal. Pressure had already started to build, the precursor to climax that combined hunger, thirst and need and as Nick shifted his knees to reset his stance it was enough of a change in his next stroke so that the vixen’s arms trembled for a second before folding. As her front collapsed, a strangled whine coming from her throat as her sex constricted around her mate’s turgid shaft, orgasm burning through her body like a wildfire through dry grass.

It was the sudden change in Skye’s posture that spelled the imminent release for Nick, the new angle and the manner that his vixen presented herself, the swell of her ass and lifted tail allowing him to see her in all of her feminine glory. It was impossible for the fox to keep from sliding his right paw more to the center of Skye’s back so that his thumb could stroke that magical place just below her tail where her violet gland lay. The touch of his pad on the subcaudal gland filled the space around them with the scent of flowers and had the added benefit of sending Skye into another orgasm. So intense were the sensations for the vixen that her body began to tremble almost violently, but still she pushed back repeatedly, trying to drive her lover deeper into her sacred place.

Nick’s knot formed almost instantly and Skye’s body was ready, her nether region gobbling up the swelling of his cock like a greedy kit bolting down a treat. Then she constricted around his mass, locking the two of them together before keening in rapturous bliss as she came again. It was enough to cause the vixen to seize up even tighter around her mate, the little bit of motion they were capable of despite being tied triggering Nick’s release. For a moment the red fox swelled to even greater diameter before his tip erupted with thick ropes of his virile cum, liquid heat filling Skye’s channel and womb. From past lovemaking the vixen knew that Nick’s capacity was prodigious to say the least and felt herself stretching deliciously to accommodate the sheer volume that he pumped into her. The final discharge came and Nick threw his head back, growling through teeth that were clenched tight with the blessed agony of climax, the tiny feral part of his brain taking over and focused solely on filling his mate with his seed as his paws and fingers gripped the fur of her haunch and ass to press further into Skye.

The haze began to clear after several long moments, Nick and Skye coming back to themselves almost at the same and panting hard with the exertion of their mating leaned to the side, still locked together, and spooned together as they caught their breath. Skye sighed as a contented smile stretched her muzzle as her eyes fluttered closed, and she placed her paws on the arms that held her.

When Nick nuzzled the side of her head, lipping the fur of her cheek, Skye chuckled throatily. “I wonder if it would have been that good when we were younger,” she mused softly.

“Probably not,” Nick replied after a moment. “I would have only been interested in getting my nuts off and not your needs.” His eyes squeezed closed as his arms tightened their hold on the vixen fractionally. “I…I wouldn’t have appreciated you or Judy or…or even myself. Not back then. Like you said, we had to get to this point.”

Skye nodded and sighed, nestling deeper into the hollow formed by her lover’s body. “Okay. So maybe all the crap  _ was _ worth it.” She lay there basking in the slowly dissipating ecstasy while waiting for Nick’s knot to reduce and it was sometime before she spoke again. “I guess we should head back as soon as you let me go. The babies will want supper soon, and I need to hit the pharmacy. Getting another tummy full of kits right now would be a little dangerous, and I’m still getting the hang of taking care of Jaz and Virg.”

“As you wish,” the red fox said with another nuzzle, quoting a line from a movie that they and Judy loved watching whenever it was on.

They continued to lay there for another couple moments of comfortable silence before Skye murmured into the humid air.  “I talked to my doctor last time I saw him. I told you he didn’t want me on birth control yet?” She nodded when Nick hummed an affirmative.  “What I didn’t mention was that I also asked him about surgery.”

“Surgery?”  Nick’s tone indicated concern, but given Skye’s continued relaxed state it was mild.  “What sort of surgery?”

Skye shrugged in his embrace.  “The not-having-anymore-children kind.  Two are plenty for me, and I don’t want the risk of having more even if I do get birth control.”

“Well, there are condoms,” retorted Nick mildly.  “Like we’ve been using the last couple weeks.”

“I don’t like them, though,” said Skye.  “They’re a good idea if you don’t want kits now but might later, and if you’re concerned about infections.  It’s always a good idea to use them if there’s any risk; but with the three of us, the only risk is pregnancy in me.”

“And since you don’t want to get pregnant again,” finished Nick, “you’re considering getting the surgery.”

“We should talk about it, though.”  Skye looked at Nick over her shoulder.  “The three of us.”

“It’s your body, Snowball.”

“And we’re going to be married.  I just feel like you two deserve to at least voice your opinions before I make a decision.  We’re partners in this.” She hummed again, distracted by subtle movement in her groin as Nick slightly adjusted his position.  “Adoption is a thing, though, if we decide to have more children later.”

“We’ll talk about it, then,” said Nick.  “Later on.” 

Abruptly the seal caused by his knot broke as it shrank, and he slipped out of her, causing her to groan at the sudden emptiness.  

“I never get used to that,” muttered Skye.  She sat up and looked down at herself. “I suppose we should get back; Judy will be worried.  I sort of wish she were here to help clean me up. But,” continued Skye with a guilty look, “I did enjoy it being just the two of us.”

Nick sat up as well, and kissed Skye lightly on the side of her muzzle.  “Just like she and I enjoy it when it’s just us. Just like you two enjoy it when I’m not involved.  No need to feel bad about it.”

Skye shrugged noncommittally and began to gather her clothes to dress.  

 

Half an hour later, the two of them entered the apartment with a pharmacy bag in paw, their fur already dry of the precipitation of the Rainforest district thanks to the heat of Savannah Central.  Judy and Rachel were on the couch finishing the last remains of a creamy pasta dish, which Judy set aside to get up and greet them with an embrace. 

“Everything okay?” asked Judy, looking at the way they behaved; Skye was standing close to Nick, their tails in constant contact, one of Skye’s paws on Nick’s hip.  Gone was the subtle standoffishness the vixen had still displayed even hours before, and gone was the doubt in her eyes as she looked at Nick and Judy.

“Everything’s fine,” said Skye.  “Sorry I left without saying anything.  I don’t mean to shut you guys out.”

Judy kissed Nick, and then Skye.  “It’s a process,” said Judy. She pulled back with a grin.  “Smells like you guys enjoyed yourselves.”

“After a talk, yeah.  It sort of just happened,” said Nick.

Judy nodded, her smirk softening as she looked at Skye.  “Whatever you said, it worked.”

“What do you mean?”  Skye looked at Nick, who smugly stuck his paws in his pockets, then back at Judy, her head canted to the side.  

Judy pulled Skye into a gentle but tight embrace, and murmured into her ear.  “You act like you belong. You finally came home.”

Skye returned the hug, her tail wrapping around Judy’s legs.  “The last few hours have given me some serious changes of perspective.”

Judy stepped away and patted Skye’s cheek with a bright smile.  “Good.” She grabbed Nick’s paw and Skye’s and pulled them toward the couch where Rachel was awkwardly ignoring the displays of affection.  “Come listen to this, Rachel was telling me about wave-particle duality in light.”

“Yep,” said Skye idly, “my sister’s a nerd.”  She threw Rachel a wink as she moved past the couch.

“Oh shut up,” said Rachel, grinning.  “It’s very interesting.”

“I’m sure it is.”  Skye went to check on her kits, keeping an ear open to listen to her family talking.  


	6. Chapter 6

The sleek silver car, a small-class Jaguar, roared as it sped up the long driveway, slotting easily even moving too fast into a parking space and purring not unlike the animal it was named for before being shut off.  From this car he stood; he locked the car, then dropped the key in his pocket and adjusted his tie with a practiced paw. The gold watch glinted in the evening light, the charcoal silk suit matching it and the white fur nicely.

It had been a long drive, so he rolled his shoulder a moment to work out the stiffness.  Then, he turned sharply on his heel and strode toward the stately house. At the top of the parking lot near the house was a white rabbit with black spots; she was dressed smartly in a simple pantsuit, a clipboard and pen in paw.

“Evening,” said the rabbit, giving him a once over with her eyes; her eyes told him all he needed to know:  she was more than willing to use that karambit clipped to her belt, and she found him good looking but not attractive.  If he were here to seduce her, he would have a hard time. Thankfully, that was not the case.

“Hello,” he said.  “This is the Hopps Compound, I presume?”

“You’re in the right place.”  The rabbit checked her clipboard.  “And you are?”

He smirked, ever so slightly.  “Savage,” he said. “Jackson Savage.”

The doe made a check on her clipboard.  “You’re late. You’re a Deerbrook rabbit, aren’t you?”

“Good eye,” said Jack as the doe turned to lead him inside.

“Some of my students are originally from there.”  The rabbit peered at him over her shoulder. “I’m Sam Kaine-Hopps.”

“Pleasure,” said Jack.  

They entered the house, which was immaculately clean, and Sam led him past a closed door from which music emanated--the male’s party, no doubt--and right down the hall, through the kitchen, and to another room which should normally have been a study.  It had been turned into a second party for the female, or more appropriately in this case females. Inside was the Hopps matriarch and her husband, Bonita and Stuart respectively, along with the famous officer Judith Hopps and her fiancée Skylar Toklo.  Also present was Skye’s young sister, Rachel.

They were all nude except for Rachel, who bore a just-barely-opaque loincloth that exposed the full expanse of her legs and derriere but left her groin tastefully concealed.  She, like the others, was topless and, like the others, was busy fussing over Judy and Skye with fur-safe paint, painting glyphs along Skye’s spine. Skye and Judy both had such glyphs, as well as others painted around their nipples, and Judy had a cinnamon-pigment pawprint placed on her groin above her womb and across her vulva.  It was all very traditional Fertility rites.

Sam cleared her throat, drawing attention.  “Skye’s plus-two is here.” She turned to Jack.  “I’m needed back in the boy’s room.” She slipped out as Skye stepped forward to hug Jack.

Judy had heard of Jackson ‘Jack’ Savage, and to be honest, he wasn’t how the doe had envisioned him. He was well dressed in a custom suit, but he was lithe to the point of almost being too thin and his movements, while crisp and precise, practiced almost, also seemed a touch effeminate when most of the bucks she’d had experience with tried to portray more size and strength then they actually possessed. Judy would have stood to greet him, but at the moment he was too busy saying hello to Skye. She did interrupt enough to point out one glaring fact.

“Why, Mister Savage, I think if you’re going to join in the festivities you might be overdressed.” There were a few giggles from some of her younger siblings, but Judy paid them no mind. “We wouldn’t want to get paint on your suit, would we?”

Jack pulled away from Skye, who had not marred his suit since the paint on her front was dry already, and smiled at her.  To the outside eye, the smile was small, perhaps tight, but it made Skye’s own muzzle split in a wide grin.

“This is quite true,” said Jack, looking at Judy.  “I apologize for my tardiness; there was a fire I had to put out before I could leave the office.”

“Not a problem, Jack,” said Skye.  “It’s good to see you,” she continued warmly.  “This is my girlfriend Judy, and her parents Bonnie and Stu.  And you remember Rachel?”

“Quite a lot bigger than she was last I saw her,” quipped the spy as she shook Rachel’s paw.  Then she turned to Judy and took her paw as well, but kissed Judy’s knuckles. “Pleasure to meet you, I have learned a great deal about you all.”

Judy’s ears pinkened in a blush at the greeting and she found herself smiling. It wasn’t because there was any attraction to Jack, the doe knowing full well that she was bound completely to her mates, and then there was also knowledge of the rabbit’s preferences. It was more that the attention to her knuckles was so out of place in either Bunny Burrow or Zootopia, like something one would see in Downton Warren or some other drama from overseas. A glance at her mother, however, showed that Bonnie’s eyes were sparkling with interest in the urbane buck with the very refined accent.

As were no few sisters, for that matter.

“Jack?” Judy said with a small smile. “May I introduce my mom and dad, Bonnie and Stu. Guys? This is the notorious Jack Savage.” Her smile grew slightly. “Skye’s told us a few tales about you. Nothing too much, but you can tell that she thinks a lot of you.”

Both Bonnie and Stu stepped forward, Stu more trundling with age and bulk which was less fat than it was a lifetime’s worth of hard earned muscle. And while Bonnie had a matronly ripeness about her it didn’t detract from her attractiveness. “Pleasure to meet you, Mister Savage,” Stu said with a slightly nervous half smile as he extended his paw.

Jack shook Stu’s paw firmly.  “Jack, please. I’ve spent many years away from Zootopia, as my accent no doubt shows, but whenever I come back home I make sure to get a few bottles of your brandy.  A marvelous taste of home.”

Stu blinked in surprise. “Really? You buy the brandy we make? We don’t do a lot, to be honest. Never thought I’d meet someone that was a fan of Hoppsfields!” He turned to his wife. “Did you hear that, Bon? Jack likes our brandy!”

The matriarch of the Hopps family gave a slight eye roll and head shake. “I heard, Stu,” Bonnie said with a soft chuckle as she held out her paw. “And any friend of Skye’s is certainly welcome here, Jack. We have rooms all set up and after we’re done tonight some of the younger boys can help you get settled into the room we have for you.”

“Your hospitality honors me,” said Jack as he lightly kissed Bonnie’s knuckles.  Then he started to remove his watch, setting it aside. “It has been quite awhile since I’ve been involved in anything traditional.  You will have to forgive any mistakes I may make.” As he set his jacket and tie aside and began unbuttoning his shirt, he smirked at Skye.  “I am not surprised you went in for the traditional rabbit wedding garments, Skye. Though it’s almost a shame, you’d have looked good in a kilt.”

“Yeah, right,” grinned Skye.  “With my hips?” 

Rachel smacked her on the top of the head with the dry end of a paint brush.  “Stop moving.”

Judy leaned a little towards Skye and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I think it would look great because you have some fantastic hips, babe. I know Nick and I like grabbing onto them every chance we get.”

Judy’s comment brought out a number of gasps and giggles, a few taking the banter for what it was, a couple with scandalized amazement. It was the sort of banter that happened around rabbits and not really a big deal. Then there was Juniper, one of the not-quite-adult sisters that Judy noticed watched the newcomer strip down, her muzzle falling open by increments as more fur was bared to the open air. Unfortunately Judy wasn’t in any position to head off her wayward sibling as she approached Jack.

“Mister Savage? Would you like a soda or a tea or something?” the light tan and white doe asked, her gold flecked bronze eyes sparkling as she looked at Savage everywhere but his eyes like a starver contemplating a buffet. “I’d be more than happy to get me...I mean you...something...yeah…”

Jack chuckled and tossed Juniper a smile.  “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but that’s not necessary.”  He picked up the bowl with the cinnamon pigment. “Let’s see if I remember how this goes.”

* * *

Nick sat patiently as one of Judy’s many brothers finished adding touches and small flourishes to the series of glyphs that ran down his spine and another flicked the small brush with the cinnamon based paint on his ears. Fortunately the symbols over his eyes had been done first and the fox was no longer sitting with his muzzle all but pressed into the chest of male rabbit. It was a little stifling with all of the candles, incense and bodies that moved about so that when someone offered him a glass of chilled juice, Nick all but lunged at the offered refreshment.

“Bless you, little soon to be bunny brother-in-law,” Nick said with aplomb. “You are a life saver!”

“Rabbit, not bunny,” the young buck commented flatly with the twitch of an eyebrow.

To busy gulping down the chilled liquid that turned out to be blueberry juice and club soda, Nick only nodded simply and silently until he drained the glass. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to offend,” he replied honestly.

“Feh!” the rangy rabbit that had been painting the fox’s back snorted. “Bailey thinks being called ‘bunny’ is demeaning and that only does should be called bunny.”

The tan and buff rabbit in question narrowed topaz colored eyes at his sibling. “You grow up as the runt of your group and get mistaken for a doe the first ten years of your life and tell me how you feel about it.”

Nick couldn’t help but blink and look the young buck up and down before tilting his head. “Runt? You’re almost as tall as me!”

Bailey smiled. “I hit a growth spurt.”

“Yeah, I’d say you did,” Nick agreed. “Um...so, hanging out with the guys is fun and all, but how much longer do I have to be the canvas for the fingerpainting?”

The rabbits throughout the room laughed as the buck that had given Nick the drink turned around with his own small bowl of pigment. “There’s just one more area that gets painted and then we wait for the word to head outside.” Bailey couldn’t refrain from snorting in wry amusement at the fox’s reaction as he knelt on the floor next to Nick and dipped a finger in the sweet smelling paint. “Don’t worry. That’s not the area that I have to do,” the lapin said as he nodded towards Nick’s groin. “Mom gets that place, which is cool with me. Now hold still.”

“What? Wait...m... _ Bonnie _ ? Are you serious???” Nick yelped as Bailey began applying a design over his heart.

“Well, yeah,” one of the other rabbits, chortled. “The passing of the parental torch, you know? But not our mom.  _ Your _ mother.” 

“Yeah,” Bailey said as he leaned a little closer, his voice indicating that he was concentrating on his task. “And because of you marrying our sister, your mom also becomes one of our burrowmothers. So we get to call her mom as well.” He made a couple of more marks and leaned back. “How’s that look, Tobs?” Bailey glanced up at Nick. “Tobias is the one that taught me the glyphs when I was a kit and this one was one of the only ones I forgot.”

Before the older buck could say anything Sam leaned over, Nick having forgotten the doe was there. His heart sank a little as he watched her expression change into something like disappointment prior to shaking her head. “Damn it, Bailey. You fucked that one up. That’s the glyph for females. I mean, unless Nick  _ likes _ his mates taking it out on his tail…”

“What???” the fox yelped again, worried that he would somehow be blamed for messing up something as important as the ceremony was to Skye and Judy. He fervently hoped that wasn’t the case, but was out of his area of knowledge.

The rabbit that had been doing Nick’s back stepped around. “That’s it, Bey.” Tobias glanced at the rest of the markings and nodded. “Sam, that was completely messed up!” he told his sister who had started laughing, ignoring the almost identical looks of recrimination from Nick and Bailey. “Cool. Apart from the fertility marks, we are done.” He glanced at the suddenly nervous fox. “Don’t mind Sam. She loves fucking around with folk. Maybe this will help.”

Nick watched as the rabbit turned around and snagged something a bit more potent, popping the cap on one of Stu’s homemade beers. As he accepted the bottle with a nod of gratitude his green eyes flicked towards the still snickering doe. “Yeah, Sam only picks on the people she likes, and the sharper the barb, the more she likes someone. It’s just with all of this going on and…”

Bailey nodded as his paw was slapped away from one of the beers and Tobias pointedly put a soda in his grasp. “Yup. That’s Sam, all right. But don’t worry about the rest. You got this, Nick. Judy loves you too much to hold a grudge, and it looks like Skye’s the same way.”

Tobias snorted and flicked his brother’s ear. “What the hell? You get your carrot wet finally and all of a sudden your the love guru of the warren?”

The younger rabbit huffed in irritation and was gearing up for a scathing retort when a knock came from the door that led to the rest of the burrow, Sam letting in Bethany Wilde, the vixen just as nude as the other mammals. Her green eyes fell on her son after seeming to greet everyone else in the room and she smiled. “Don’t you look the sight!” she said with a warm smile at her Nick, noting the symbols placed in very specific places on his body.

It was a little daunting to have his mother looking at him in the nude while also casting glances at the naked rabbits traipsing about the room or lounging casually on large throw pillows. “I wonder if this could get any more awkward,” Nick muttered. “Um, so no one really told me about what you’re exactly supposed to do. All I know is that it’s some sort of symbol for success or something.”

Bethany shook her head as she moved further into the room. “No. Fertility, Nicky, which is sort of moot, but it’s traditional and important to Judy.” The vixen paused long enough to take her son’s drink out of his paw and enjoy a sip before handing it back. “Do you have the paint?” she asked Tobias.

“Right here,” the rabbit said with a slowly growing smile.

“Outstanding. Let’s get this done so it’ll be dry by the time of the ceremony.” Bethany shook the bowl lightly and nodded.

Nick swallowed and set his beer down. “So, what are we doing?” he inquired nervously.

The smile that his mother graced him with was more smug than any he’d ever used, even during his most outlandish hustles. “Nicky, I’m sure you’ve said this to others, but lay back and spread your legs.”

“MOM!”

Bethany grew even more smarmy. “I used to change your diapers. This isn’t anything that I haven’t seen before.” Here expression slipped into a serious glare. “Spread ‘em, boy.”

“Yeah, not awkward at all…” Nick grumbled but wisely complied.

Dipping her paw into the pigment, Bethany let the excess drip back into the bowl, glad that Bonnie and Stu had the foresight to put drop cloths on the floor, then cast a look at her son before placing her paw over his maleness so that she cupped his testicles while her middle finger ran the length of his sheath. “This is a blessing and a passing of responsibility and duty. I give my child this mark to show the transition to parent and the guide of our bloodline.”

Before Bethany could release Nick the door to the room opened with a muffled, “In here?” Turning around the newcomer gaped at the scene of Bethany groping her adult son who was laid back with spread legs and a fluffle of laughing rabbits scattered about. “Whoatheholyhell!!!” Wolfard exclaimed as his jaw fell open in astonishment, yellow-gold eyes widening in shock.

“And there’s the next highlight of the evening,” Nick groaned as he put a paw over his face in mortified embarrassment.

“This is all completely normal,” said Sam, who at the same time discreetly stepped away from the wolf.  “Fertility rites. You must be Wolfard? You’re late.”

The wolf smiled apologetically before stepping over to the side of room before one of the rabbits bounced up and handed the newcomer a drink. “If you want you can put your clothes over in that cubby. I’m not sure how wolves do it, but rabbit weddings are normally done in the nude. If that’s something you might not be comfortable with we can get you a loincloth.”

“Yeah, we do it a little differently, but it’s cool,” said Wolfard.  “I’m comfortable enough in my fur.” Wolfard looked around at the several rabbits and one mature vixen who was currently washing her paw, then looked back at Nick.  “Aren’t we missing someone? I thought fox and rabbit weddings had a sibling involved in the ceremony or something. Like the analogue to a wolf’s best male or something?”

Nick sat up and was about to answer, happy to not having to stay in such a compromising position, but his mother answered before he could.

“Nick would have had two siblings, a brother and sister,” Bethany said as she shrugged while drying her pads with a small towel. “Unfortunately there were complications.” She turned her attention to her son and motioned up with her chin. “You might want to stand and let the paint dry, Nicky. And you might want to pick someone to stand with you. It’s bad luck not to, and keeping Judy and Skye is sort of the thing now, right?” she teased with a grin.

“Yea. I don’t want to start the rest of my life ticking either one off.” Nick looked at the wolf, then at the young rabbit. “How about it, squirt? Would you stand as my sibling and second?”

Bailey blinked at the fox before turning to Wolfard. “You don’t mind?” the young rabbit asked, almost shivering in excitement at the offer he’d just been given.

“Not at all, little guy,” the wolf said with a grin that might have been a little too toothy considering where they all were. “I’m not all that familiar with your traditions, so I’ll just hang back in the friends and family section!”

Nick held out his paw to the buck that would soon be family by marriage, and one of the fox’s favorite individuals out of the Hopps clan. Bailey reminded Nick of himself, but without the potential of getting into trouble with the law. He was a risk taker, of that there was no doubt, but Bailey had too big of a heart to let that adventurous streak lead him into questionable choices. “So, what do you say, squirt? I’ve got no other family, no siblings to stand with me.”

Nodding vigorously the rabbit took the paw but was stopped before he could turn that into a hug.

“Not that I hate hugs, but I’d prefer a bit of cloth between us, m’kay?” Nick asked with a chuckle. “You bunnies are so emotional.” He saw the slight change of expression before amending his statement. “Sorry.  _ Rabbits _ .”

Nodding at the change of phrasing, Bailey cast a sideways look at the fox. “Seriously? You know that’s not really something rabbits really stress over, right? And I know you aren’t a ‘phobe…”

Nick snorted. “Hardly homophobic, squirt. But I can tell that the paint is still wet, and do you really want to have to explain to Carrots why some of the symbols are all smeary?”

“Point,” Bailey agreed. “Just because Judy  _ can _ be forgiving, I’d rather not push my luck.” He glanced at the clock and nodded. “Hey, Sam! Did you catch that? I’m going to be Nick’s second!”

Sam rolled her eyes and made a note on the clipboard.  “Yes, Bailey, I heard. Speaking of the ceremony proper, though, I should go get dressed.  My jeans and teeshirt won’t work for this.” She plucked at the black shirt she was wearing, which had a spaceship and the words “I aim to misbehave”, and was large enough to fit Nick.  “Not that I dislike this shirt….” She trailed off, then shrugged and turned to walk out, waving over her shoulder.

Bethany tilted her head as her ears flicked upwards, Nick mirroring the expression almost exactly. “I thought that the ceremony was performed in the nude?” the vixen inquired to no one in particular.

“Oh, that,” Bailey quipped as he opened a cubby for Wolfard to put his clothes. “She’s going to officiate, but as a priestess of Ferocity she has to honor both her and also Fertility for Judy. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, though!” 

His grin was far too smarmy for Nick’s liking, but the fox let it go as he stood with his legs slightly spread. “I really hope this doesn’t take too much longer to dry. I feel like I should be having money thrown at me,” he quipped before swaying his hips a little and placing his paws behind his head an assuming a provocative pose.

Wolfard swallowed hard and looked pointedly away from Nick.  “I’d throw money at you to keep you doing that, but the squirt took my wallet with my pants.”  He cleared his throat. “I didn’t know Sam was a priestess, though. Thought she was like, a teacher even though she’s loaded.”

Bailey snorted but it was Tobias that replied. “She is a teacher, and she is loaded. She nabbed herself a very successful writer.” The rabbit plucked a radish from a tray of nibbles and made short work of it with his front teeth. “As for being a priestess, blame Judy. When she left for the ZPD Academy she set a  _ precedence _ . The kind that allowed a lot of us to do the things that we wanted instead of getting hutched into being farmers. Bailey got into gymnastics, I got into semipro racing, and Sam switched from following Fertility to Ferocity. Then again Sam’s always been a scrapper, so it sort of fits.”

“Oh, is she the one that had that thing with like an ex girlfriend or something?”  Wolfard rubbed his chin. “Judy was really up in arms about that, she threatened to become a one mammal army if the department didn’t support her with the investigation.”

Nick nodded solemnly. “Yup. That would be the one. Best not to bring it up, though. Everything was dealt with.” He cast a look around before dropping his voice. “Besides, I believed her when she swore that she would burn everything down if she didn’t get help. Never get between Judy and what she believes to be her duty to her work or the duty to her family.”

“No kidding,” said Wolfard, nodding.  “I was in the briefing with Bogo the morning after her ultimatum.  She brought lighter fluid to a briefing in Bogo’s office. Tell you what, if anything happens to  _ me _ , I hope Judy’s on my side.”

“I hate to interrupt the praise of my soon-to-be daughter in law,” said Bethany, “but we need to get going.  The ceremony is supposed to start in a couple minutes.”

“Let’s not be late for that,” said Nick.  The others murmured in agreement as the group began moving.

* * *

A rather quick decision had been agreed on as to where on the Hopps’ property the wedding would take place and also how Nick, Skye and Judy would approach. Each would come from a different direction, gathering at a spot a little bit away from Bonnie’s small copse of fruit trees where the stacked wood for the bonfire was set. A small table was also set up with some of the accoutrements that would be part of the ceremony and ritual.

With the sun having set, each of the participants were led to the clearing with the one that would stand with them; Jack with Skye, Stu with Judy, and Bailey with Nick, each carrying a torch that they used to light the way. Many of the witnesses were already there, all of them nude save Rachel Toklo who wore a loincloth that made her far more alluring than just being naked would, several of Judy’s brothers eyeing her with clear appreciation. It was Sam, however, that drew Nick and Skye’s attention as the trio drew together.

The white, black-spotted doe was clad in a bikini crafted out of scale maille, which was worse than useless as functional armor but split the difference between Ferocity and Fertility for ritual purposes nicely. The tiny metal plates caught and threw back the flames from the torches giving Sam the appearance of being clad in living fire. At each hip rested a karambit, the twin weapons just as functional as they were decorative. It was fitting as Priestesses of Ferocity were warriors as much as they were spiritual leaders.

Then the three caught each others attention. For Nick it was like the moment that he first saw the vixen and doe and realized that he was in love. Both were stunningly beautiful, glorious in their unclothed state, and the ultimate examples of femininity. His heart skipped twice as Judy and Skye returned his glances, nearly identical smiles shaping their muzzles as their eyes sparkled. It was like he could see the depth of their love for him and each other, amethyst and what were now cerulean eyes taking him in, staking their threeway claim by the intensity alone. It was enough to make his own start to fill with emotion and he drank in the mingled scents of his doe and vixen as he drew closer to them.

The seconds looked around before following the cue that Jack gave. 

“I, Jackson Savage, do hereby give away Skylar Toklo to this union,” the striped rabbit said clearly, his odd accent giving his words a solemn sort of gravity that still contained a note of approval and affection as Rachel stood in the position of sibling and guard, her paws wrapped around a staff that was bedecked with ribbons, favors and tokens that represented hopes and blessings for the three. “May you stand together as the bound mate of Nick and Judy, an equal in all things. Bring each other joy in times of plenty, comfort in times of lean, shelter from the storm, and be the vessel of unending love for the hearts that become bound to yours, the lives that willingly join their light with your own.

“May this union be fertile and fruitful, a shining example for others to aspire to, an everlasting bond that will last until you are called home to Silver Forests.” Jack turned to Skye, deviating from the ceremony itself, his smile wide, genuine and warm. “You have been one of the few things in this life that have given me hope, and, if I could have a daughter, it would be you, Skye. You  _ have _ been the daughter that I would have wished for. I give you and your mates my most heartfelt blessings.”

Skye leaned down for the patronly kiss that Jack bestowed upon her cheek, the buck’s eyes shining in the illumination cast by his torch. And with that, he stepped away and watched the rest of the wedding, his back straight, ears erect, and chest filled with pride even as tears silently coursed their way down his cheeks. From her position as Skye’s honor guard, Rachel shook her head slightly before sniffing delicately.

The others followed suit, giving the same benediction and, because of Jack’s little addition, giving personal blessings. After Skye it was Bonnie’s turn to present her daughter while Judy’s sister Susan stood in the position of honor guard. She made her proclamation and took one of her daughter’s paws in hers that was sans torch. “You know, you always were determined to make your own path. I...I didn’t help you or support you as I should have, but you didn’t let that stop you, Judith.” Bonnie hiccuped and choked back a soft sob, her face twisting as she struggled to keep her emotions in check. “I j-just wa...want you to know that you have all m-my support n-n-now. You and Nick and Skye...”

Her mother giving in to her feelings was almost enough to set Judy off and her eyes glittered brightly as she threw her arm around the older rabbit’s neck, letting Bonnie chin her affectionately. Even the sound of Stu blubbering in the background didn’t detract from the moment. “Thank you, mom,” she whispered as their tears mingled.

When they parted Bonnie simply nodded and stepped back, not trusting herself to speak, her lower lip between her teeth in an effort to not ruin the moment with an outburst. Maybe when the feast began she could disappear for a few moments and enjoy a well deserved breakdown.

Finally it was Bethany’s turn. She spoke the words of passing her son off to his mates and paused at the end, taking a deep breath. The older vixen didn’t really look her age, and it was a little disconcerting for Nick to see some of the looks that she was getting from a few of the older Hopps bucks. Then again, from everything Nick had heard, events like this tended to become a little raucous, and while he didn’t begrudge his mother a bit of fun, it was...odd. All of that dropped away, though, as she turned to face her son, looking up slightly to meet his emerald eyes with her own.

“Oh, Nick, I had always hoped that you would find someone special one day. I didn’t anticipate that you would find two that compliment you so perfectly. Watching the three of you together is a joy, and the love that all of you share is a wonder to behold. So long ago when I carried you beneath my heart I had so many dreams for you. This surpasses all of them.

“That’s not to say you weren’t the cause of more than a few grey strands of fur, but here and now you have become so much more than I could have asked. You have mates that love you, a job that enables you to be the individual that I thought was lost after the Ranger Scouts, and two beautiful children.” She sniffed and dashed at her eyes with the back of one paw. “I’m so happy for you, Nicholas. Happy and more proud than I can say. Trust Skye and Judy and you’ll never have to worry. Treat them both like the treasures they are.”

Bethany then closed her eyes against the sudden sting she felt in them and then leaned forward to brush her cheeks against those of her son’s before releasing his paws and stepping back while casting smiles and nods at the other vixen and doe, knowing that they truly loved her boy, but were also strong enough to keep him grounded and focused should the need arise.

With the giving away of all three, Sam entreated them to approach the small altar that held three small pots with some form of plants in each, a chalice, three collars and little metal tags and a trio of thick candles bound in ribbons.

Sam cleared her throat.  “We’re here at the last rays of sunlight to bind three mammals spiritually and legally together.  The common wisdom says that for every end there is a beginning, for every death a birth. So too is it today:  as the day dies, your lives together begin.”

Skye took a breath and looked at the pair before her.  “I’ve had dreams as long as I can remember of being married to you, Nick.  But then life happened, and those dreams turned into the silly imaginings of a little girl.  Even when I came back home for the last time it seemed like it could never happen. I was alone even with you there to support me, because you had found Judy.  It takes two to make a family, and I knew my time in your life was ending.” 

She looked at Judy.  “But then you decided that I should stay.  Your willingness to step aside frightened me at first, and then made me confused and angry.  But you changed tack, and made me feel welcome, even as broken as I was. I never expected to fall in love with you as well, but I think anyone would be hard pressed not to find something in you to love.  

“I was wrong.  I always knew that to make a family, it takes two.  But sometimes, it takes three. I give everything I have, my skills and my love.”  She looked Judy in the eye as she spoke the next words, “and my name, to you both.”

Judy cast a glance at Nick before turning back to Skye, her paws reaching out of their own accord to grasp those of the two foxes. She tried to speak a couple of times and had to pause, her lower jaw trembling as she fought down the well of emotion that bubbled forth. The gentle squeeze from Nick’s paw and the caress of Skye’s thumb on the fur of her knuckles helped her to center and she spent equal time gazing into the eyes of both.

“I thought that I was going to lose Nick when you came back into his life,” the doe admitted. “How could I compete with someone that had know him his whole life? And then, when you came to stay with us while you got resettled, I would see how you looked at him. When I asked Nick if he loved you, he was completely honest and said yes, and it was like all the light left the world. But when we started talking, and we got to know each other, and I realized that I couldn’t hate you because you loved Nick for all the same reasons that I did. That gave us the foundation for a friendship that quickly became very important.

“Then something began to change in  _ me _ . I saw why Nick loved you and always would, and my feelings for you began to grow as well. I didn’t know that I could ever love two mammals at the same time as much as I love you and Nick. You have filled a part of my heart and soul that I never knew existed, and now that you’re a part of me as much as Nick, there’s no way I can let you go.”

Judy then turned to Nick. “When I first met you I was the rookie with a chip on my shoulder. So many mammals said I couldn’t do it, couldn’t be a police officer. And you were no different at first. I tricked you into helping me, and that was wrong. But somewhere along the way of that first case, we started working together and I learned to trust you, then I depended on you. I made a friend and something more. When...when I thought I lost you after screwing up that stupid news conference...I wished I could have just died. Even though I couldn’t admit it, I’d already begun to fall for you because I saw that deep down you were  _ good _ and you made me want to be a better me.

“You believed in me when no one else did, and that was everything to me. And I did fall in love with you and if you aren’t a part of my life, and Skye isn’t a part of my life, then I have nothing. The two of you are my all.”

Nick paused before taking Skye’s free paw so that he could wipe the tears that began to course down Judy’s cheek, their vixen doing the same as they silently supported each other. With the smile of gratitude the doe gave them, Nick nodded and took Skye’s fingers in his, almost feeling that something in the universe clicked into place as they stood together.

“Skye, I knew that I loved you when we were both still kits, and as we grew, so did those feelings. But you wouldn’t let things go past close friends. I can’t say I blamed you. Not with the amount of growing that I had to do. It’s almost like you waited until I matured to a certain point before coming back. And when you did, Judy and I were together and engaged.

“Those first few days were the worst of my life. Seeing you in the precinct, though, brought so much back, the past impacting with the present. I was torn and confused with all of the feelings from the past conflicting with my feelings for Judy and it felt like I was being ripped into pieces. On top of that was the fear that I wouldn’t be able to escape hurting one or the other or both, and neither of you deserved that, not over me. And I prayed that all three of us could find an answer, a way through the pain and uncertainty. I definitely didn’t expect the outcome and realizations that the three of us made. And Judy is right. Together we are truly something special. You have a third of my heart and soul, and you have given all three of us the greatest gift possible with Jazmine and Virgil.”

The smile that Nick received, warm, perhaps a little coquettish melted him from within and made his knees tremble slightly. After a long moment of basking in the light of eyes that had gone a sapphire blue he turned to Judy.

“When we first met you made me do something that I hated with every fiber of my being, and perhaps the most important thing I’ve ever done prior to this moment. You made me take a long hard look at myself and what I was. Judy, you pulled everything about myself that I hated into the light and made me face it. I didn’t care too much for what I found. At the same time you helped me discover the things about myself that I thought I lost. You helped take all of those little broken pieces and put them together again so I could be the fox standing here before both of you.

“Judy, you gave me hope. You also chose to see not what I was born as, but the person I could be and had faith in me when I had none for myself. The fox I am now is because of the two of you, of wanting to be the best I can for you, for Skye, for our kits.” With a soft smile as his own eyes filled, Nick drew rabbit and vixen a little closer. “Each of you are a third of my heart and soul, but you’re both all of my life. I swear to you both that I will spend every day from now until the last breath leaves my body showing you just what that means and how much I love you.”

After sniffing delicately, Sam stepped forward again, her scale underwear clinking, and she produced from somewhere three braided cords, each formed from a green, purple, and blue colored cord braided together.  

“Normally,” she explained, “in traditional weddings, this part would be accompanied by binding your wrists together.  Since there’s three of you and that would leave you effectively unable to do anything but stand around in a circle, we’ll do it a little different.”  She cleared her throat and spoke more loudly, so everyone else could hear, taking one of her karambits in paw. 

“In Fertility’s home, family is the first, last, and most important consideration; not just the family from which you came, but also the family you choose.  In Ferocity’s hall, the blood of battle and the heat of survival binds two souls more surely than a knotted cord. Today we combine those two traditions.” As she continued, she took the middle finger of the left paw of each mammal and used her karambit to draw blood, a drop of which was dripped in both the chalice and the plant pots.  “Blood to spice the wine and to feed the saplings. As your blood mingles here, may your souls too mingle until you act as one.” 

Then, Sam took the chalice, in which was a sweet red wine and a drop of blood from each of the three, and she offered it to them in turn to sip.  “To keep, to care, to defend in equal measure. This price of blood is the contract writ.”

Finally, she took the braided cords, and tied one securely to each left wrist.  “And with these knots made, the contract bound and signed. Witnessed by those gathered, in the  name of Fertility and with Ferocity’s grace, I name thee paw-fasted and married, forever and a day.”

Nick looked back and forth from Judy to Skye before lifting the collar that his two mates had selected for him, the design matching the other two in coloration though the ones intended for the vixen and doe were thinner, almost dainty. A single row of copper mesh was lined on both sides by a row of silver and then darkened steel, the hues representing each of the three. They had been made at a shop by someone Skye said she knew. They also had a backing of material to keep from snagging or pulling on fur. With a smile, Nick held his collar out to his mates before kneeling.

“I accept this symbol of our union, and wear it proudly. Let it be known that this isn’t a symbol of ownership, of servitude, but a symbol of our bonds for all to see,” the red fox proclaimed, smiling as Skye and Judy helped to fasten it around his neck. As the fastener was secured, more than enough slack so that it didn’t feel constricting, Bethany explained to the assorted Hopps that it was a common thing for canids to wear collars that bore a token of exchanged vows.

Once it was secure, Nick stook and accepted a cheek rub from Skye and then a chinning from Judy, their scents mingling with his. Then Judy and Nick put the vixen’s collar on her as she spoke the same words followed by Judy. It was impossible to keep the beaming expressions from spreading between the three, the vows, the collars, the entire night the culmination of dreams from the new family that had found each other despite the challenges that they faced alone and together. As the moment stretched out it expanded to encompass the gathered witnesses and family members who surged forward to greet the newlyweds before they were carried off to the grand feast that Bonnie had overseen for the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it took us awhile to get this done. Combination of Winter Blues and complicated IRL work schedules. Sorry about that. We're still kicking!
> 
> We have probably one final chapter after this one. We'll get it done when we can, and we hope you enjoy this!


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